Berlin announced on Monday, like Paris on Saturday, the suspension of its development aid and its budgetary support to Niger after the military coup against elected President Mohamed Bazoum. “We have suspended all direct support payments to the government of Niger,” German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a regular press briefing in Berlin. “This morning it was decided to suspend all bilateral cooperation for development,” added his colleague at the Ministry of Development, Katharina Koufen.
In addition, Berlin “is examining the whole of the bilateral commitment in Niger” and, depending on the evolution of the coming days, will “possibly take other measures”, added the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The German government reiterated its condemnation of the coup, stressing that the situation there was “changing” and that the efforts of the international community were continuing to obtain “a return to democratic order”.
A hundred German soldiers stationed in Niger
For the moment, Germany has not planned the evacuation of its nationals from Niger, which it estimates at less than 100 for those who work neither for the embassy nor for the German army (the Bundeswehr). “We are naturally prepared for a deterioration of the situation but that does not seem to be the case yet,” said Sebastian Fischer.
A hundred German soldiers are stationed in Niger. In the capital, Niamey, there is an important air base of the Bundeswehr, which is used in particular for the withdrawal of the German army from Mali, a neighboring country. “For the moment, since the coup, personnel at the air base have not been threatened,” said Defense Ministry spokesman Arne Collatz. “Their activity has been interrupted, as far as operational tasks are concerned,” he added.