France has decided to offer training to 12,000 peacekeepers in African countries including Ghana to equip them with adequate skills to control conflicts on the continent and beyond, from this year.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the training would enable African peacekeepers halt crime and the high rate of piracy in Somalia and other countries on the horn of Africa.
President Sarkozy was addressing the 25th Franco-African Summit in Nice, France.
The two-day summit which focused on trade, partnership, economic integration, peace and security was attended by leaders from 56 African
countries.
More than 200 executives from the private and public sectors from the participating countries attending the summit signed partnerships among themselves.
President Sarkozy pledged France's commitment to remain instrumental in combating crime and terrorism after supporting former Yugoslavia, Mali and Mauritania to maintain peace and tranquillity in their countries.
He appealed to beneficiary countries to capitalise on the opportunity to reduce conflicts and warfare on the continent.
"France would keep to all her promises and hope that you would also plan well to take advantage of the training to reduce the high rate of conflicts, wars and piracy on the African continent," he said.
President Sarkozy said France was ready to share her technological expertise with African countries and appealed to African leaders to
strategise well to access the training programme without acrimony and bitterness among themselves.
Dr Bingo Wa Mutharika, Chairman of African Union (AU), expressed satisfaction at the just-ended Franco-African Summit adding; "Africa needs a common voice on global warming and climate change challenges which are becoming very urgent issues for the continent, the time to act is now".
He called on African countries to move away from resolutions to strict implementation of issues that had delayed and remained bane on Africa's development.
"We have resolved for many years, but action has been very scanty and we have to move into action, and the action must be now or never again in our quest for development," he added.
Madam Laurence Parisot, President of French Employers Movement, said the collaboration between African countries and France was growing stronger and there was the need to cement that relationship by strengthening their economic ties to generate wealth for development.
She promised that the French Employers Association would set up an organisation of employers in both Africa and France, have regular follow-up meetings that would help them implement their decisions for mutual benefit.
"This is Africa's day and this is Africa's time and we all need to fight a common cause that would give us both political and economic
emancipation on our continents and countries," she added.
From: George Ramsey Benamba, GNA Special Correspondent, Nice, France