By RFIPosted on 21-12-2019Changed on 21-12-2019 at 10:30

Emmanuel Macron continues his 48 hour visit to Ivory Coast. On the program this Saturday: a tête-à-tête with Alassane Ouattara. The two presidents must also relaunch the project of an international anti-terrorism academy in Jacqueville near Abidjan, partly funded by France, which Paris aims to eventually make Côte d'Ivoire the place where will "develop a regional strategy to combat terrorism".

Objective of this academy: to train in the same place all the high level actors involved in the response to the terrorist threat . That is to say as well special forces, as judges, magistrates, or even intelligence specialists. And this not only for Côte d'Ivoire but for all the countries of the Sahel region in the Gulf of Guinea. Countries “ asking for a collective strategy ”, according to a source at the Elysée.

140 trainees from nine African countries

This project has been in the making for several years and was already launched for the first time last year by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, but has not taken off since lack of resources. The arrival of Emmanuel Macron should be an opportunity to sign the last contracts and to kick off the works. The delivery of the buildings is announced for next summer.

Located in the small seaside town of Jacqueville about fifty kilometers from Abidjan, this academy should include both a training camp in anti-terrorist techniques, a nautical base and a strategic research institute. Meanwhile, Ivory Coast has already hosted this year, in 2019, in temporary premises, a first class of 140 trainees, from nine African countries : from Chad to Senegal through Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali.

Renew and invigorate

In addition to security, Emmanuel Macron's visit focuses on youth and sport, two sectors that he has set up as a priority to reinvigorate relations between France and Africa. In the company of the former Ivorian international Didier Drogba, he inaugurates on Saturday a "sports agora" in a popular district of Abidjan, before debating with students and then signing bilateral agreements, in particular for the construction of the Abidjan metro. . And to go to Bouaké, where the French president will lay the cornerstone of the large market, symbol of the city's renewal.

The state should think about young people

Bouaké, crossroads to revitalize

2019-12-21 - By Edouard Dropsy

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