Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is providing to the government of Niger to assist it to tackle terrorism and organised crime.

The UK has seconded a UK national to the EU training mission which is working to build the capacity of the Nigerien security forces. In February 2014, the UK participated in the regional security training exercise Operation Flintlock, hosted by Niger, which fosters regional co-operation to support counter terrorism and stabilisation activities in North and West Africa.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) chaired a Ministerial meeting in London on security in Nigeria on 12 June 2014. The Nigerien Foreign Minister participated in this event, which made important commitments to enhance regional security cooperation.