Niger - France Relations
France and Niger have close and privileged relations. Given the security challenges in the Sahelo-Saharan zone, France and Niger have an important cooperation in security and defense. As such, a project "Support for cross-border cooperation in the Sahel" has been implemented since 2015 in the border area with Burkina Faso and Mali. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports the four Nigerian forces (army, national guard, gendarmerie, police), as well as the central counter-terrorism department. As part of Operation Barkhane, launched in August 2014, France deployed a detachment of the Air Force in Niamey. A temporary temporary base has also been established in Madama, near the Libyan border.
France is one of the leading suppliers of Niger. However, the bilateral trade balance has historically been structurally favorable to Niger due to uranium exports. Mechanical equipments and pharmaceutical products are the first export items from France to Niger. About twenty French companies are established in Niger, both subsidiaries of large groups and small and medium-sized enterprises. They work in services, distribution and in the mining sector.
France is the second largest bilateral aid donor in Niger, behind the United States, with 80 million euros of new commitments in 2015. The partnership framework document signed in November 2013 for the period 2013 to 2016 identifies five priority areas: Stability and security; sustainable development ; Human Development ; Agriculture and food security; Cultural diversity and Francophonie. Over the past few years, the French Agency for Development projects have focused on water and infrastructure in urban and rural areas, education, vocational training, health, energy, support to non-governmental organizations And the private sector. It also implements budgetary support to the Nigerian State (€ 23 million in 2015).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development also implements several priority solidarity funds, such as "Modernization of the State and Decentralization in Niger", "Support for the Modernization of the Abdou Moumouni University in Niamey" and "Citizenship Tax and development ". Since the end of 2014, the French Embassy in Niger has a new tool to support Nigerian civil society: the Southern Civil Society Support Fund (FASCS). With an envelope of € 700,000, it would finance 25 projects - aimed primarily at young people and women - to promote citizen expression.
The Jean Rouch Franco-Niger Cultural Center is a binational institution responsible for disseminating French and Francophone culture in all its forms and promoting the contemporary artistic and cultural expression of Niger. Its two establishments in Niamey and Zinder offer the two most important public libraries in Niger. Two French Alliances are also located in Agadez and Maradi. Since the creation of municipalities and urban communities in 2003, Franco-Nigerian decentralized cooperation has started to develop. Today, it is home to some thirty partnerships covering a large part of Niger's territory.
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