The Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos participated today, Tuesday 7 April, in the Ministerial teleconference on “Τask Force Takuba”, chaired by the French Minister of Defence, Ms. Florence Parly.

In his intervention, the Minister of National Defence highlighted the importance of actions by the EU, its Member States and “Task Force Takuba”, regarding stability, security and growth in the Sahel. Mr. Panagiotopoulos also underlined that the destabilisation of the area affects the EU’s broader geopolitical environment and maritime security, and it creates migratory flows towards Europe.

The Minister emphasized the fact that the opening of a Greek Embassy in Senegal indicates the importance attributed by Greece to this region; he also commented on the fact that the possibilities to contribute to French, and other EU m-s’, initiatives and actions on the region’s security, are being examined.

The conclusions of the annual period since the establishment of “Task Force Takuba”, as well as the operational planning of the next years, were discussed at the teleconference, which was also attended by Defence Ministers from EU Member States, Norway, Serbia and Ukraine, as well as officials from Mali and Nigeria. The participants also expressed their support to countries of this area, in their operations against Islamist Extremists, with a view to guarantee peace in the region.