APS : Monday, 23 October 2017
ALGIERS- Algeria has maintained a “high level of vigilance” within its territory and along its borders, said Monday in Algiers Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel.
“Algeria, which suffered greatly from this scourge in the 1990s with the return of foreign terrorist fighters, has maintained a high level of vigilance within its territory and along its borders, and reiterates its readiness to strengthen border and police cooperation with all the countries of the region,” stressed Messahel at the plenary meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF)’ Working Group on Capacity Building in West Africa.
He also underlined the need to join efforts to dry up the various financing sources of terrorism in West Africa, especially the ransoms from hostage-taking, the transnational organized crime in all its forms, the very profitable exploitation of illegal migration networks, trafficking in arms, drugs and human beings as well as money laundering.
In this regard, Messahel assured “Algeria would continue to support the criminalization by the United Nations of ransom payment to hostage takers and any actions aiming at drying up the different financing sources of terrorism.”
“It is within this spirit that we will hold, jointly with the Netherlands, the first regional meeting on the connection between terrorism and the transnational organized crime, here on Wednesday,” said the Foreign minister.
