Press release by President Charles Michel following the EU-G5 Sahel video conference
Today, 28 April 2020, the President of the European Council, HE Charles Michel, and President in office of the G5 Sahel, HE Mohamed Cheikh el Ghazouani, co-chaired a video conference with all the heads of state of the G5 Sahel, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the High Representative of the EU, Josep Borrell, in the presence of the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the African Union Commission.
During this video conference, leaders adopted a joint declaration by the members of the European Council and the member states of the G5 Sahel. Leaders agreed to continue joint efforts to expand the Coalition for the Sahel to include other international partners.
In view of the seriousness of the situation in the G5 Sahel countries and their vulnerability to the spread of COVID-19, the co-presidents stressed the urgent need for constructive solidarity among the international community in order to provide an effective and sustainable response to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, and in Africa and the Sahel in particular, with a focus on limiting the health and economic impact of the crisis.
In this regard, the co-presidents recalled the joint statement of the members of the European Council of 26 March 2020 and underlined the European Union’s commitment to international cooperation and multilateral solutions to tackle the pandemic and its consequences. The President of the European Council reiterated that the European Union will do its utmost to help countries and communities cope with the COVID-19 crisis, in particular to alleviate the negative socio-economic impact of the crisis and to strengthen the sustainability of global integrated value and supply chains in order to adapt them to demand.
The co-presidents welcomed the call made by several African and European leaders on 15 April 2020: ‘Only a victory in Africa can end the pandemic everywhere.’
The co-presidents welcomed the statement of the Extraordinary Summit of the G5 Sahel held on 27 April 2020, which was devoted to the COVID-19 pandemic within the G5 Sahel area. They noted the G5 Sahel’s call for the international community to take into account the G5 Sahel’s requests in tackling the COVID-19 crisis. They undertook to liaise accordingly with the members of the European Council and international partners with a view to examining African countries’ requests for the outright cancellation of African debt in response to the consequences of this unprecedented pandemic.
The co-presidents call on the international community to continue the efforts to support the G5 Sahel countries in their fight against the consequences of COVID-19.
The President in office of the G5 Sahel expressed his appreciation for the European Union’s response to the international dimension of this unprecedented global crisis. He honoured the thousands of people who have died of COVID-19 in the past weeks.
The co-presidents agreed that a follow-up meeting, in the form of a video conference, would be held within three months.
