Dakar, 23 March 2015- The Special Envoy for the Sahel, Hiroute Guebre Sellassie, paid a visit to Sweden from 19-20 March 2015, in order to seek opportunities for enhanced collaboration with the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden to address challenges in the Sahel.
During her visit, the Special Envoy met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Margot Wallström, the Nordic African Institute, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Folke Bernadotte Academy. The Special Envoy also met with Mr. Fredrik Floren, the Swedish Ambassador to Libya and Tunisia. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Special Envoy agreed that the international community’s strong commitment to tackle the challenges in the Sahel is needed and that peace and security must go hand in hand with governance and development. The need to stem the vicious wave of radicalization in the Sahel region was underscored and the Special Envoy and the Minister of Foreign Affairs agreed that the creation of job opportunities and the empowerment of women and youth must be prioritized.
Special Envoy Sellassie, who lauded Sweden for deploying peacekeepers in Mali, pleaded for continued involvement of Europe and Nordic countries in the Sahel. She also discussed areas for possible collaboration, including on research, and providing resources for the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel with the Nordic African Institute, the Folke Bernadotte Academy and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
