In the presence of the HoD EUDEL Niamey, the NE Special Operations Forces Commander and the NE Commander of the military zone Tillia, as NE Armed Forces representatives, the Deputy Director of MPCC officially transferred the Command from Colonel Christian Mayer to the Navy Commander Sven Rump, both from Germany.During his visit, General Maio had the opportunity to exchange information and views with the HoD EUDEL in Niamey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Président de la Haute Autorité à la Consolidation de la Paix (HACP), the Niger CHOD, EUCAP Sahel Niger, the DE military Liaison Element to NE and the BE Mission ‘New NERO’ Commander.

The excellent cooperation between NE military authorities with the EU commanded MATF GAZELLE and its effectiveness were underlined. Furthermore, the perspective to widen MATF’s force setting through inclusion of contributions by willing EU Member States next to DE was re-called. The EU support to the NE defence sector beyond MATF GAZELLE provisions was addressed as an option for the NE defence sector to further develop. During a site survey, General Maio got visible that the compound size had almost doubled over the past six months and that the construction of infrastructure for MATF staff, the SOF school, including accommodation have developed rapidly.

The integration of MATF GAZELLE into EUTM Mali has become effective since 14 August 2021. MATF’s GAZELLE visibility, so far, is high in Niger and it has proven its reliability and credibility. The integration of MATF GAZELLE in EUTM Mali leads immediately to EUTM Mali’s mandate delivery in Niger through a well-established, qualified and credible force, highly trusted by Niger’s authorities.