Ghana Chief of Defence (CHOD), General T Oppong-Peprah, Ivory Coast CHOD General Lassima Doumbia and CHOD Brigadier General Fructueux Gbaguidi from Benin all expressed their satisfaction with the Initiative. The Heads of EU Delegations mentioned the added value of EUSDI GoG to their current activities in Benin and see the potential to work more closely together. 

The fruitful discussions with the high-level counterparts provided avenues to operationalize these intents. The close collaboration between EUSDI GoG and the respective states stays key to ensure effective implementation. This long-term partnership guarantees a robust training program. On the EU side options were discussed to integrate the other EU initiatives seamlessly with the ongoing EUSDI GOG efforts. 

EUSDI GoG

At the request of Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin, EUSDI GoG 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 uses 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 also implements 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. 

The initiative has a limited standing footprint on the ground. Military and civilian crisis management advisers are deployed in the EU Delegations of the Region and work under the respective authorities of the Director MPCC and the Civilian Operations Commander and the political guidance of the Head of Delegation. Once approved, the proposals chosen by the CSDP mission will be implemented on the ground either through short term missions or quick impact projects led by experts. The initiative is steered by two dedicated Brussels based cells that are located under the overall responsibility of the CivOpsCrd and the Dir MPCC respectively.