Insight into the work on the ground: Federal Foreign Office meets ZIF secondees in Niger

The Federal Foreign Office Commissioner for Crisis Prevention and Stabilisation, Heike Thiele, was in the Niger capital Niamey for the Lake Chad Conference and used this occasion to also visit the EU peace operation in the West African country. She met with ZIF secondees at the EU capacity building mission EUCAP Sahel Niger. In addition to the German police officer and Head of Mission, Antje Pittelkau, she also met with German civilian experts, including the Human Rights Advisor, the Political Advisor and the Chief of Staff. This enabled Heike Thiele to gain an impression of the civilian efforts and successes of the mission on the ground.

EUCAP Sahel Niger has been active in the Sahel since 2012 and currently has more than 100 staff members. The mission's main task is to train Nigerien police officers, national guardsmen and gendarmes. An additional focus of the mission's work is to support the Nigerien security forces in protecting the country's borders and fighting human trafficking.