Luxembourg Pledges Additional €90m Support for Sanitation, Education, Public Finance & Employment in Niger

On Monday 11 July 2022, Luxembourg held its 14th Partnership Commission with Niger via video conference; Niger has been a priority partner country for Luxembourg's development cooperation programme for more than 30 years.

The Partnership Commission, co-chaired by Franz Fayot, Luxembourg's Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs and Minister of the Economy, and Hassoumi Massoudou, Niger's Minister of State and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, was the occasion to sign four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) relating to the bilateral programmes of the fourth Indicative Cooperation Programme (ICP IV). With an indicative budget of €144.5 million for the period 2022 to 2026, this constitutes the most important ICP of Luxembourg's development cooperation programme.

The four MoUs, with a total budget of more than €90 million, concern support programmes in the following sectors: water and sanitation, the education sector, public finance management and the development of employment and the employability of young people and women in the regions of Dosso, Niamey and Zinder.

These programmes are in line with the strategic objectives of the ICP IV, which are the development of human capital and the strengthening of inclusive governance, aligned with Niger's strategic priorities. During this political dialogue, Minister Fayot highlighted that through the ICP IV, Luxembourg is continuing its support for education and vocational training, emphasising the empowerment of young people, particularly young girls. In addition, the ICP IV places greater emphasis on finance, in particular through the promotion of inclusive finance and good financial governance.

Improving access to social services, particularly water and sanitation and food and nutrition security, is also a pillar of the ICP IV. As the provision of basic social services in fragile and crisis areas remains a major challenge, Minister Fayot also highlighted the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, which is at the heart of ICP IV interventions.