APS : Wednesday, 27 February 2019
ALGIERS- Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdelkader Messahel underlined Tuesday, in Algiers, that a “total coordination” between Algeria and Niger is necessary to “take up the challenges”
facing the region, notably illegal migration and terrorism.
In a statement to the press following a meeting with Niger’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration Kalla Ankourao, Messahel affirmed that these talks allowed broaching “the challenges facing the region like illegal migration and terrorism.”
“These issues constitute challenges for both Algeria and Niger, hence the need for a total coordination between us to address them,” said the head of the Algerian diplomacy.
Emphasizing “the imperative cooperation between the two countries,” Messahel affirmed that the talks with his counterpart of Niger allowed “a full and exhaustive assessment” of this cooperation, on the basis of the results of the previous High Joint Committee in 2017, and the stages that followed it, notably in terms of strengthening the legal arsenal of the bilateral cooperation.
In this respect, Messahel underlined the two countries’ willingness to “give this relation a strategic and fraternal character,” welcoming the cooperation in the field of security.
He added that the meeting was also an opportunity to broach infrastructures, praising the completion, soon, of the trans-Saharan road that will link Algiers to Lagos (Nigeria), via Niamey (Niger), he added.
Niger will also benefit from the Algerian satellite for commercial purposes as well as from grants for students, said Messahel, pointing out that 300 students from Niger followed their studies in the Algerian universities.
Algeria and Niger hold ongoing consultations, particularly concerning the conflicts in the region, both in Libya and Mali, said Foreign minister.
While broaching the situation in Mali, the minister said he is optimistic about the entry into force of the agreements concluded after Algiers’ process.
