GENERAL

three satellites to boost security in the Sahel nation and its neighbours, all battling jihadist attacks.The deal covers a communications satellite, another for remote sensing and a third for radar, Nigerien Communications Minister Sidi Mohamed Raliou said at the signing ceremony in the capital Niamey.Their manufacture in Russia will take four years, he said.State radio in the West African nation reported that in the meantime Glavkosmos had agreed to loan similar equipment."At the end of this project, the three countries [Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso] will be able to pilot their communication satellites themselves and manage them as they wish," the ANP Nigerien press agency quoted the minister as saying.