French President Emmanuel Macron and Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou on Thursday agreed to propose a postponement to 2020 of a meeting between the European country and the Sahel countries. 

According to the French presidency, Macron and Issoufou want the meeting, which was initially scheduled for later this month, to be convened next year.

The decision to postpone the event follows an attack on a remote military camp in Niger.

The meeting is aimed at evaluating the French military presence in the Sahel region as well as the fight against so-called jihadist organizations, 

Islamist militants killed 71 soldiers in an attack on a military camp located near the border with Mali, an army spokesman said on Wednesday, in the deadliest raid against the Nigerien military in living memory.