Berlin
Following last week’s military coup, Germany has become the latest Western power to suspend cooperation and halt financial aid to Niger, Al Jazeera reports. At a press conference, a representative of the German Foreign Ministry said that all direct aid payments to the Nigerian central government would be halted until further notice.
“We are in close contact with our partners on how to move forward,” tweeted Jochen Flaisbarth, state secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, adding that Berlin was interested in how the African Union and West African How does the Economic Community of States respond? , according to Al Jazeera.
After President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by his troops on Wednesday, General Abdourahmane Tiyani, head of Niger’s presidential guard, declared himself head of a transitional government.
Germany and the former French colony began talks about development cooperation in 2021, and Berlin has made a two-year commitment of about 120 million euros (US$132.36 million) to Niger.
According to Flaisberth’s ministry, the aid is focused on preserving peaceful, inclusive societies in Niger, modernizing the country’s food and agriculture systems, and strengthening health policies.
Last Monday, the European Union stopped any financial or security aid to Niger, according to Al Jazeera.
“In addition to the immediate cessation of budget support, all cooperation work in the field of security has been suspended indefinitely with immediate effect,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement on Saturday.
The European Union had allocated 503 million euros (US$554 million) from its budget to improve governance, education and sustainable development in Niger from 2021 to 2024, according to its website.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Bierbock tweeted last week that “where the military seizes power by violence, it harms its own country.”
Since 2018, the German army was training about 150 special soldiers from Niger, but that mission was completed at the end of 2022.
Germany this year said it wanted to send 60 troops to Niger, as part of an EU mission to help the government in Niamey bolster its military, Al Jazeera reported.
