Civil Head and Military Commander EU Security and Defence Initiative visit Benin

The visit provided the opportunity to talk with relevant players in order to improve the partnership. Procedures, current needs and alignment with other EU initiatives like the assistance measure under the European Peace Facility were discussed.

EU SDI GoG

At the request of Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin, GoG SDI supports Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin with the build-up of their security and defence forces to help them respond to security threats in the north of these countries.

The initiative combines civilian and military expertise and assets to:

• contribute to enhancing Host State resilience in vulnerable areas in their northern regions through capacity building of their security and defence forces;
• provide pre-deployment operational training of Host State security and defence forces;
• support the enhancement in technical areas of Host State security and defence forces;
• promote the rule of law and good governance in Host State  security sectors, focusing on their security and defence forces, and support trust-building between civil society and security and defence forces.

To implement its tasks, the Initiative will position both military and civilian advisers, mobile training teams, visiting experts and crisis response teams to meet the expressed needs of the Host States ensuring local ownership and leadership. EU support will enhance their ability to contain the spill over from terrorist activities in the Sahel. It will also implement civilian and military projects, while facilitating the implementation of assistance measures under the European Peace Facility which may be decided by the Council in support of the countries.