Development Minister Schulze is starting her four-day trip to West Africa today. The first stop is Mauritania, then we continue to Nigeria. The main focus of the talks is the Niger conflict.
Svenja Schulze wants one thing above all on her trip to West Africa: “First of all, I want to go to the region to listen to the important players there. We now have to coordinate very well with each other.” The SPD politician means the future handling of the putschists in Niger.
The German development minister has chaired the Sahel Alliance since July. An alliance that coordinates international assistance in Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger. In Niger in particular, one of the poorest countries in the world, the federal government had planned many projects – from building a women’s clinic to promoting new jobs for the young population.
The country was seen as an anchor of stability. Then came the coup. 24 million euros in development funds were initially frozen: “We don’t want a coup regime like that to get the development funds and do something else with them. That’s why we stopped the cooperation for now,” said Schulze ARD Capital Studio. Only humanitarian aid for the poorest continues.
Discussions planned with ECOWAS representatives
Schulze’s trip to West Africa is not just about development cooperation. After a stop in Mauritania we continue to Nigeria. Talks with ECOWAS representatives are planned there.
Nigeria currently chairs the Economic Community of West Africa. As ECOWAS chairman, the Nigerian President initially threatened the putschists in neighboring Niger with a military operation. Now they are apparently relying on diplomatic negotiations.
The federal government had backed ECOWAS from the start: “It is very important to me to remain in very close coordination with ECOWAS – with this regional economic association, which is also basically leading the peace negotiations at the moment,” said Schulze. “That’s important for me as President of the Sahel Alliance. But it’s also important for the entire region. This organization is of enormous importance.”
Political influence in the region rather low
For Anna Schmauder, Sahel expert at the Berlin think tank Global Public Policy Institute, the German alliance with ECOWAS is not unproblematic. Especially the sanctions from ECOWAS, but also from the federal government, considers Schmauder dangerous.
The prices for grain have already risen enormously: “It changes little in the negotiating position when populations suffer. The consequence is rather that positions become more radical. That there is more support for the putschists, who can mobilize much more easily against external actors who behind the sanctions.”
At the same time, the Sahel expert assesses the political influence of Germany and the entire EU in the Sahel region as rather low: “There are other interested parties, other new partners in the Sahel region. There is a great return to political sovereignty , which takes place in the capital cities in the Sahel – in Bamako, in Ouagadougou, in Niamey. I think external partners have a limited say at first.”
By new partners in the region, Schmauder means above all Russia. One more reason for Development Minister Schulze to travel to West Africa now: “But I don’t want us to leave this region to those who are enemies of democracy. Like Russia, for example, who are very visible there.”
That’s why Schulze doesn’t just want to listen on her journey, but also set an example. That Germany stays in the Sahel region in order – as the development minister says – to help the poorest countries in the world.