Algérie Presse Service (APS) – October 24, 2011

Malian Presient Amadou Toumani Touré made a four-day official visit in Algeria intended to give new impetus to Algerian-Malian relations and to lay the foundations for more efficient bilateral and regional cooperation able to face the terrorist threat in the Sahel region.

Algeria and Mali have expressed the shared willingness to intensify their efforts to turn their region into an area of peace and stability and a cooperation model for development.

Increased terrorist activity in the Sahel sub-region, added to organized transnational criminality, have led Algeria and Mali to play a primordial role in guaranteeing security in border areas.

The recent developments in the region stemming from the situation prevailing in Libya have led the two countries, now more than ever, to increase their efforts toward developing a joint strategy to react to any kind of threat.

Indeed, the consequences of the Libyan crisis foster greater vigilance, consultation and dialogue and solidarity between the affected countries of the region with the objective of preventing the increased insecurity and terrorist threat, more particularly because of the worrisome proliferation of weapons.

In this respect, the creation of the joint operational staff committee, in Tamanrasset, is the answer to the absolute necessity and resolute determination of the concerned countries (Algeria, Niger, Mali and Mauritania) to establish a more efficient cooperation for combating all manifestations of traffic and criminality.

It is more precisely with that in mind that Algeria, which has always argued in support of backing counterterrorism with development actions benefiting local populations, has supported the Malian government with a 10 million euro donation intended to finance development of jointly-selected programs in Mali’s northern regions (Gao, Kidal and Tumbuctu), which are often used as fall-back zones by terrorist groups.

Moreover, Algeria has on several occasions acted as mediator between the Malian government and the Tuareg rebellion movements by hosting talks between the two parties, which concluded in 2006 in the signature of the Algiers Agreement.