The French President, François Hollande, will increase France’s support to countries within the Sahel region affected by the Malian crisis and food insecurity in the region, according to a statement from the French presidency, received by PANA on Monday.
The statement said the French president gave this indication while exchanging views with the president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, in Paris.
“The head of State indicated his wish that rural development in the Sahelian zone be the object of more substantial investments. The high-level meeting dedicated to the Sahel in New York on the UN General Assembly, on 26 September, will have to be the opportunity for a reinforced commitment of the international community in favour of the Sahel countries,” the statement disclosed.
Several countries of the Sahel, including Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso, are strongly affected by the fallouts from the crisis in Mali since the coup d’etat on 22 March and the occupation of Northern Mali by armed Muslim groups.
The region, already facing the scarcity of food, must now face floods that killed dozens of people, mainly in Niger and Senegal.
