African leaders talk about security with the French president

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) – African Heads of State pledged to coordinate their efforts Efforts to improve continental security French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Nouakchott on Monday to discuss the fight against Islamic extremism and ways to finance counter-terrorism and the fight against terrorism. Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz met with Macron at the airport, and congratulated the French president for his "work for the development of the region and the fight against terrorism and insecurity."

Aziz said that relations between Mauritania and France have made "significant progress in several key areas such as defense and security, energy and health in particular."

He said that Macron has supported the new form The G5 Sahel regional force has become an important framework for coordinating efforts to promote the development and fight against extremism, organized crime and illicit trafficking.

Macron was scheduled to meet with the presidents of the G5 Sahel group, which includes Mauritania and Niger, Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso.

"This exchange will be an opportunity for me to mark my commitment to renew the link between France and the African continent, between Africa and Europe, but also to concretely rethink this link, As he does among others on issues of security, counter-terrorism and education, "Macron said

concrete decisions will be made at Monday's meetings on the redeployment of forces and their positioning for the coming months. The meeting comes as the Malian branch of al-Qaeda has claimed three attacks in three days in Mali. The first was held Friday at the military headquarters of G5 Sahel, then Saturday, a landmine attack against Malian soldiers and Sunday, a suicide bomb targeting French soldiers, but killed four civilians. Both presidents condemned the attacks.

million. Aziz said Sunday that Africa needed a comprehensive approach to deal with extremist attacks that take into account cultural and economic issues that are at the root of the violence

. At the summit, African leaders adopted a series of decisions with at least 49 countries signing a treaty for the African continent's free trade zone. Other decisions have been made to work towards the eradication of corruption and the reform of AU institutions as well as recommendations to help areas of tension, including South Sudan. "Africans have shown that they can meet the challenges of the Union and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, saying that countries must remain on the path" to achieve better results against corruption and towards our economic integration. "[19659003] The summit of the African Union, Sunday and Monday, was set up to discuss corruption, to return the stolen money, which is widely placed in tax havens abroad. According to the AU, about 70% of income from African resources is wasted or diverted.

Speaking Monday of France's relations with Mauritania, Macron stresses that "bilateral relations between our two countries are not limited to Security. "adding that he hopes the" we can continue to intensify relations in terms of development projects and economic ties. "According to him, more than 40 million euros ($ 46 million) will go to development projects through the French Development Agency in Mauritania