Ivory Coast: Sébastien Lecornu evokes the "rearticulation" of the French military presence
Ivorian Defense Minister Tene Birahima Ouattara (L) welcomes French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu (R) to the presidential palace in Abidjan on February 20, 2023. © AFP/Issouf Sanogo
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2 mins
The French Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, was on a visit this Monday, February 20, to Côte d'Ivoire, France's main partner in the region.
He met with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara and Ivorian Minister of Defense, Téné Birahima Ouattara, to continue discussions around the "rearticulation" of the French military presence in Africa.
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With our correspondent in Abidjan,
François Hume-Ferkatadji
This is the third time that the Defense Ministers of the two countries have met to discuss the subject.
At the end of these discussions around the summer of 2023, France could reduce its military personnel in Côte d'Ivoire.
The Ivorian army is capable of ensuring the security of its country itself, these are, in essence, the conclusions of the meeting between the Ivorian and French defense ministers.
"
The army of Côte d'Ivoire today has nothing to do with that of ten years ago
[...],
the role of power of balance of Côte d'Ivoire is established more and more more
”, declared the French Minister of the Armed Forces, at the end of an interview with the Ivorian President.
According to a government source, France therefore plans to reduce its military personnel in Côte d'Ivoire without, however, giving figures or a timetable at this stage.
In Ivory Coast to continue with our partners our reflection on the rearticulation of our military presence in #Africa.
— Sebastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) February 20, 2023
"
It does not make sense to maintain a French combat unit that does the same thing as the Ivorians
," says the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
The French Forces in Côte d'Ivoire currently have a thousand men, prepositioned in the military base of Port-Bouët, in Abidjan.
France now wishes to promote training, in particular with the establishment of a center for “
combatant operational conditioning
”.
Training also of pilots, mechanics and specialists in the maintenance of military equipment.
Finally, the Ministry of the Armed Forces wishes to establish a closer relationship between French manufacturers of military equipment and the Ivorian authorities, with a view to promoting the sale of arms to the Ivorian army: helicopters, artillery, drones, cybersecurity, etc.
Sébastien Lecornu also indicated that he wanted to dispatch, “
in the coming weeks
”, a panel of French entrepreneurs, “
to make proposals to the State of Côte d'Ivoire
”.
I look forward to the visit today of my French counterpart @SebLecornu.
Our two countries are engaged in the co-construction of modern military cooperation which is gradually being deployed.
This will allow us to effectively address several issues of common interest.
pic.twitter.com/smfPa5dudr
— Téné Birahima Ouattara (@TBirahimaO) February 20, 2023
► To read also Ivory Coast: the request for the withdrawal of French troops from Burkina Faso observed with attention
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