Roundup: France, Mali, Chad agree cooperation to tackle security, economy challenges in Africa

During the opening ceremony of the 27th Africa-France summit on Saturday, French President Francois Hollande, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Chadian President Idriss Deby all agreed it is necessary to face, at the same time, the security and economy challenges in Africa.

For Malian President Keita, the theme of the Summit -- "Partnership, Peace and Emergence" is pertinent in the current situation where the three issues are related to each other.

Africa and France have the possibilities of tackling these three issues through sticking to their long tradition of cooperation and their committed engagements to work together, Keita added.

According to President Keita, the nature of terrorism that attacks or threatens nations calls for constant pursuit of an innovative approach to collective security.

"The security situation in basically all African regions is characterized by the sedimentation of the terrorist threat which spreads its metastasis more particularly in cross-border areas", he said.

The armed insurgents who settle there are showing a disturbing capacity of self reconstruction despite the strikes of "our armed forces and security forces", Keita said in his opening speech.

For him, the transversal character of the threat and the regional, even continental, dimension of these stakes make cooperation and capacity mutualization the center of the response to these issues.

Africa has made great steps in this direction with the Joint Operational Army Staffs Committee (CEMOC), the G5 Sahel, the Nouakchott Process, the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram, the Malian president said.

Chadian President Idriss Deby, Chairperson of the African Union (AU), said the theme of the summit "summarized their expectations".

"Africa and France are called on to join efforts and maintain ongoing dialogue," said President Deby.

Beyond the security aspect, the three African and French heads of state who spoke at the opening of the Bamako Summit put particular emphasis on the economic cooperation between their states.

The entire planet is facing a deep economic and security crisis, Deby said, explaining that this double crisis affects African states in a more damaging way and seriously jeopardizes their development programs.

"France will always stay at the side of Africa, because your future is our future," French President Francois Hollande said in his opening speech. He announced France will contribute 23 billion Euros in the coming five years to support the development of Africa.

In order to construct a common space of security, President Keita proposed "we should build as well a common space of development and human promotion", because it will destroy the devastating effects of terrorism, transnational organized crime, violent extremism and maritime piracy on the socio-economic situation of large areas of the African continent.

According to him, these phenomena substitute large-scale criminal economies for wealth-producing activities. They destroy the traditional social fabric and often leave the population with no choice but that of conversion to the worst.

"Facing the challenges that we encounter, we should stay in initiative and solidarity," Malian President Keita concluded. Endit