The West African country is the single biggest recipient of Luxembourg development aid under a cooperation programme that has been in place since 2003. Between 2016 and 2020, Niger received €97m in aid from the grand duchy.

The third edition of the so-called “Programme indicatif de cooperation” (PIC) was supposed to come to a close at the end of 2020 but has now been extended by a year, the ministry for development cooperation and humanitarian affairs said in a press release.

The government also pledged to spend €200,000 through the Red Cross to support victims of recent floods in Niger.

Flooding caused by heavy rains in the region has impacted 350,000 people in Niger, according to the UNHCR, with 71 people killed and another 90 injured in the natural disaster. The destruction has also left 9,000 refugees displaced with thousands having fled from conflict in Mali and Nigeria to their neighbour.

Spending of the development aid will focus on projects in the fields of education, professional training, rural development, access to clean water, food security and demographic change.

The funds are largely managed by the Luxembourg Development agency (LuxDev), the Red Cross, Caritas, the UN and other non-governmental organisations.

The government announced last year that it would upgrade its representation in Niger to embassy status with a chief of mission resident in the capital city Niamey. The ambassador to Senegal is also the non-resident ambassador to Niger.

In addition to Niger, Luxembourg has signed cooperation programmes with Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Mali, Senegal, Laos and Nicaragua.