It is the first trip to Africa for Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The fight against terror and hunger is at the center of their talks. And again and again Russia plays a role.
In view of the impending grain shortage as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for action to be taken against the impending hunger crisis.
«Russia’s war is being fought out in a cruel manner on the streets, towns and villages of Ukraine. But his traces of suffering reach deep into the Global South, »said the Green politician in a speech on climate and security at the University of Niamey, the capital of the West African state of Niger. Now we have to face hunger together.
The fact that a terrible war is raging in Ukraine in the immediate vicinity of Germany “must not and will not mean that we turn away from the other crises in the world,” Baerbock assured the students. It is a Russian strategy to “further fuel the misery in the poorest countries in the world through delivery failures or food delivery stops”. That is why she calls on the international partners to “resolutely and jointly tackle the global food crisis”.
Baerbock warns: 38 million in West Africa are at risk of starvation
If you go to a market, you have to pay twice as much for the grain today as you did a year ago, said Baerbock. Around 38 million men, women and children would starve in West Africa over the next few months. “That’s three times as many as three years ago.”
Climate change is reflected, for example, in the fact that the country has had droughts every ten years, but now every two years. This is driving food prices to unbelievable heights and taking away the living space for the people in the Sahel region, said the minister. Extremists also took advantage of the need “to recruit people for their barbaric purposes”.
Niger Minister: Climate change an existential threat
Niger’s Minister of Higher Education and Research, Mamoudou Djibo, called climate change an existential threat to his country’s livelihoods. The consequences of this must be countered with intelligent adaptation measures. There are more and more periods of drought, the beginning and end of the rainy season are changing, and the Niger River is becoming more and more silted up. According to Djibo, the University of Niamey has made the issue of climate change and renewable energy – one of the core issues of Baerbock’s Green Party – a focus of its research.
Baerbock demands elections and reforms from the Malian government
At the end of her visit to Mali, at a meeting with Malian interim President Assimi Goïta and her colleague Abdoulaye Diop in the capital, Bamako, Baerbock called for rapid elections and reforms as an important prerequisite for further German engagement in the country. “It is clear to us that we urgently need a clear commitment to democratization and, above all, elections,” she said after the meeting.
Baerbock demanded that Mali introduce democratic reforms and fight corruption, judiciary and impunity. As long as the country works closely with Russian actors, Germany can no longer participate in the EU mission EUTM, which trains Malian armed forces. Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine is also an attack on Europe, stressed Baerbock. However, Germany wants to continue to support the people in Mali affected by terrorism and other crises. At a joint appearance with Baerbock after the conversation, Diop spoke of a complex security situation in his country. At the same time, he defended cooperation with countries like Russia or China to get the situation under control.
In addition to a good 1,100 Bundeswehr soldiers as part of the UN stabilization mission MINUSMA, a good 300 other German soldiers are deployed in Mali as part of the EU training mission EUTM. Both mandates expire at the end of May, after which they will have to be extended by the Bundestag if the German soldiers are to remain in Mali. On Tuesday, when the German Minusma contingent visited the city of Gao, Baerbock had signaled his willingness to continue this commitment.
Mali and Niger are former French colonies and are among the poorest countries in the world. Niger has a population of 23 million and ranks last out of 189 countries on the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Index.
Source: Stern
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