The EU Security and Defence Initiative in Support of West African Countries of the Gulf of Guinea (EU SDI GoG) is an EU initiative combining military and civilian experts under the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

The EU SDI GoG aims to empower and assist Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin to strengthen their security and defence capabilities to respond to security threats and to tackle the spillover of insecurity from the Sahel to the West African coastal states. 

The Initiative is composed of a civilian pillar and a military pillar, that will enable the EU to deliver tailored support to partners based on their identified and formulated needs, providing expertise and modular instruments in a timely manner. 

In the initial phase, six EU civilian and military advisors will be posted in EU Delegations across the region. They will set up a network of contacts and work with national authorities to identify concrete needs and devise advisory or training projects. Additional EU experts and/or short-term training teams can be called on a temporary basis to answer specific partner requests.

The Initiative will implement civilian and military projects that should contribute to enhance resilience in vulnerable areas in the northern regions of those countries.

• Capacity-building of the national security and defence forces
• Pre-deployment operational training of their security and defence forces
• Enhancement of security and defence forces in technical areas
• Promotion of the rule of law and good governance in the security sector, focusing on the security and defence forces
• Support trust building between civil society and security and defence forces

European Peace Facility measures

The following contributions are made via the European Peace Facility (EPF)

Ghana

• €8.2 million - provision of operational support and equipment to strengthen the capacities of land forces
• 105 armoured vehicles delivered on October 28th 2023

Benin

• €11.7 million - intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to enhance the operational capabilities of Benin Armed forces

• Initiative launched: 11 December 2023
• Duration of Mandate: 2 years

Staff

Present in the region

• 4 civilian security advisors
• 2 military advisors

On demand

• Temporary EU experts
• Short-term training
• Other advisory teams

In line with the approach proposed in the Strategic Compass for Security and Defence, this Initiative marks a new milestone for CSDP Missions. It illustrates the EU’s capacity to respond to partners’ needs by providing customised expertise as well as innovative, modular and flexible instruments.

As the Gulf of Guinea is a key geopolitical area for shipping oil extracted in the Niger delta, as well as goods to and from central and southern Africa; it is an important gateway for organised crime, including illicit trafficking. This is why this initiative complements the already ongoing EU support, including on maritime security and humanitarian and development cooperation support programmes to the benefit of the local populations.