Jeddah : The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) took part in the fourth ordinary session of the summit of the G5 Sahel countries comprising Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, held in Nigerien capital Niamey last week.

The summit, attended by the heads of state of the five countries, discussed among other things, the operationalization of the G5 Sahel Joint Force to combat rising insecurity in their common space.

OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, in his statement to the summit, delivered on his behalf by Ambassador Yahaya Lawal, reiterated the full solidarity and support of the OIC to the Sahel countries in their endeavors to achieve development, security, countering terrorism and climate change. He recalled the adoption of Resolution 55/44-Pol on the G5 Sahel Joint Force (FC-G5S) by the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on 10 July 2017 and pledged his commitment to its implementation.

The summit was also attended by other key international partners of the Sahel region including 12 countries and 13 international, regional and sub-regional organizations.

The G5 Sahel is an institutional framework for coordination of regional cooperation in development policies and security matters in central Africa. It was formed on 16 February 2014 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, at a summit of the five Sahel countries.

—AB/UNA-OIC