Niger Visit, Day 1: Luxembourg PM Highlights Need for Development, Defence & Diplomacy in Sahel

On Sunday 5 and Monday 6 June 2022, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and the Minister of the Economy and Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Franz Fayot, accompanied by an official delegation, representatives of Luxembourg’s private sector and members of the press (including Chronicle.lu), paid an official visit to Niger, at the invitation of President Mohamed Bazoum.

The visit began in Niamey, the capital of this landlocked country in West Africa, which has a population of over 24 million and an area of 1.267 million km2.

Background

One of the world’s poorest countries, Niger ranks last in the United Nations’ (UN) Human Development Index (HDI – 2020). Luxembourg’s cooperation activities in the country date to 1989; a first bilateral agreement in the field of development cooperation was signed in 1991. Activity in Niger and the Sahel region as a whole follows a so-called “3D” approach, combining diplomacy, development and defence.

Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum visited the Grand Duchy in May 2021 when the two countries signed their fourth Indicative Cooperation Programme (ICP), with a budget of €144.5 million, for the period 2022 to 2026. Minister Fayot paid an official visit to the country for the first time in February 2022, during which he met with his Nigerien counterpart Hassoumi Massoudou, as well as President Bazoum and Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou.

Day One: Niamey

Upon arrival at Diori Hamani International Airport on 5 June, the Luxembourg delegation was welcomed by Niger’s Prime Minister Mahamadou and Luxembourg’s Ambassador to Senegal (resident) and to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Georges Ternes, as well as a group of traditional performers. The delegation went on to visit the Wadata Artisanal Village in Niamey; the first craft centre was built with the support of the Luxembourg development cooperation programme and the village was inaugurated in 1992. About 500 artisans (of which 40% are women) work within the village, as well as several hundred young people (mainly young girls) completing apprenticeships. The village houses 137 workshops.

As Minister Fayot told members of the press, the artisanal village is an ideal place for the transmission of know-how from one generation to the next. He noted that the project has had a significant positive impact, particularly for women. “It’s absolutely fantastic to see that”, he said, adding that such projects focused on empowering people, encouraging the transmission of know-how and making people independent through a combination of education, vocational training and financial inclusion. Minister Fayot recognised, however, that there was a need to look for new markets for these products, potentially in Luxembourg or elsewhere in Europe.

Later on Sunday, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel met with the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum. This was followed by a larger meeting involving the entire Luxembourg delegation. President Bazoum described the visit as an honour and proof of Luxembourg’s engagement. The Nigerien President praised and highlighted various aspects of Luxembourg’s development cooperation programme in Niger, notably in the priority sectors of national education, water and sanitation, training and empowering young girls, as well as support with regard to food security, helping displaced people and the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that Luxembourg was a leader in inclusive finance and described the country as “a very important partner” for Niger. He thanked the Grand Duchy for its support, although he stressed that more was needed, before concluding that the country may not be large geographically, “but you have a big heart”. 

Luxembourg’s Prime Minister explained that it was important to see how the two countries could continue their cooperation. He stressed the importance of being able to provide children with an education as well as giving prospects to future generations. Prime Minister Bettel praised Niger’s successful democratic transition following the election of President Bazoum in February 2021. He said that Niger’s President had “invited a prime minister but [instead] a friend of Niger came”. The Prime Minister later referred to the worrying situation on the African continent. He referred to Niger within the context of a “triangle of insecurity”. He went on to highlight the shared challenge of climate change – another development which has led to the displacement of people in Africa.

During a cocktail reception that evening, in response to a question from Chronicle.lu, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel shared what this visit meant to him personally, as well as for the Grand Duchy as a whole. “Firstly, I think very often as European politicians, we speak about Africa but we don’t live Africa. We don’t exchange with Africa”, he stated. “We see that for the moment, some partner countries we had a few years ago are not the democratic ones we knew, like Mali, like Burkina Faso, and Niger could be the next one. So, it is very important to support them, to help them, and also through the 3Ds [of] development, defence and diplomacy”. He elaborated: “Development because to give young generations hope, education and a future is the best way to preserve them from extremism and from violent reactions. Then, diplomacy because we always say to speak, but also defence, to protect. That’s what we do here”.

He recalled that he had promised the Nigerien President that he would visit one day; in fact, this was the first visit of a Luxembourg Prime Minister to Niger since 2006. Mr Bettel added that Luxembourg has supported the country for the past three decades in the field of development aid. “It’s a country where we know that we were able to help. Education or the cooperative [the Wadata Artisanal Village] we visited [...] are all different projects where people are able to have a certain future”.

Luxembourg’s Prime Minister concluded: “The political choice is that we try to support countries where we know that the help will be used and not misused”. On the other hand, he expressed his joy that both Minister Fayot and representatives of Luxembourg businesses were able to join “to see if there are some opportunities” in Niger.

The first day of this official visit concluded with a gala dinner bringing together about 250 people at the Mahatma Gandhi International Conference Centre in Niamey, hosted by Niger’s President in honour of Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

To read about Day 2 of this mission, see: https://chronicle.lu/category/abroad/41290-niger-visit-day-2-luxembourg-delegation-take-stock-of-development-cooperation-humanitarian-achievements