ADDIS ABABA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) on Friday commended Rwanda for its contribution to support the G5 Sahel joint force, which aims to improve security and fight terrorism in the Sahel region.

Five countries, including Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, set up the "G5 Sahel" group in 2014 to foster cooperation in the region and tackle common challenges.

On the sideline of the AU extraordinary summit on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on Thursday in Kigali, Rwandan President Paul Kagame announced a contribution of 1 million U.S. dollars in support of the operationalization of the G5 Sahel joint force.

Kagame has also pledged that his country would provide in-kind support to the joint force, according to an AU statement later Friday.

Commending Rwanda's support to the joint force, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, noted that the contribution is a strong expression of solidarity with the G5 Sahel countries in their fight against terrorism and organized crime.

Also on the occasion, Faki appealed to member states of the pan-African bloc to extend support to the G5 countries.