Niger hails military ties with Germany on Scholz visit

Niger President Mohamed Bazoum on Monday hailed his country's military cooperation with Germany as a blueprint for other partnerships, after meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Niamey.

"I would like to congratulate you on the work we have done together, which will now be a model which we can point to for all our other partners," Bazoum said.

The Niger leader also welcomed Germany's decision to prolong "Operation Gazelle" under which it trains Niger's special forces.

Scholz said the German parliament "had "given the green light to an extension".

"We have to see what the future prospects are and what the challenges are," in future, he said while adding that "the success achieved so far is already a good motivation to continue".

Scholz visited German soldiers attached to "Operation Gazelle" in the western Tahoua region on Monday morning and said he could see "how successful it really is".

He added that the security situation in the Sahel region "is very difficult", and that "really good cooperation is needed". 

Scholz confirmed on Monday that Germany would continue to take part in the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

Niger is the poorest country in the world, according to the benchmark of the UN's Human Development Index.