“Never lose sight of the close link between security and development,” insists Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou.
In a conversation with Devex Manager for Membership and Alliances Alexandre Cabaret at European Development Days 2013 in Brussels, Issoufou urged the international community to tackle criminality and terrorism within the Sahel region as a priority in the post-2015 agenda.
Issoufou welcomes the European Union’s decision to maintain financing for priority sectors — including food security, education, health, security, governance and infrastructure — and is encouraged by his country’s dynamic economy, which saw more than 11 percent growth in 2012.
The president also explained how Niger is putting into place legislation to promote and protect public-private partnerships and investments in the country and issues an open invitation: “We invite investors to come: the environment for them is favorable.”
Watch the above video (in French) for more insights gleaned from our conversation.
Devex was at the European Development Days 2013. Check out our coverage of Europe’s leading global development event of the year.
