France said on Thursday it would keep 80 military personnel in Côte d'Ivoire largely for training purposes, as it handed over control of a military base in the commercial capital amid a scaling back of its forces across West and Central Africa.
At Thursday's ceremony in Abidjan, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France was "not disappearing."
The 80 military personnel would form "the basis of a joint detachment ... depending on the needs you express, needs that will be constantly reassessed, particularly in terms of training," he said.
Forces from former colonial power France have been deployed in Côte d'Ivoire for decades, helping President Alassane Ouattara take office in 2011 after his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to acknowledge defeat in the 2010 election.
Military withdrawal
In late November, sources told Reuters that France was considering reducing its military presence in West and Central African countries including Côte d'Ivoire to 600 troops from around 2,200, at a time when Russia has been gaining ground.
Ouattara said in December that French forces would withdraw from Côte d'Ivoire
France began its military withdrawal from Chad in December after the government there – a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the region – abruptly ended its defence cooperation pact with France.
France had already pulled its soldiers out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger following military coups and spreading anti-French sentiment.
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