MAE, December 8, 2011

The countries of the Sahel involved in securing the Sahel are now viewed by their extra-regional partners (EU and US) as a grouping with a “shared strategy” and terrorist threat is perceived in similar fashion by all the parties involved, said Minister Delegate for Maghreb and African Affairs Abdelkader Messahel, speaking in Brussels on December 8.

“The countries of the Sahel region are now considered by their partners to be a grouping of countries developing a shared strategy founded on shared guiding principles and operational mechanisms,” declared Mr. Messahel at a press briefing convened after the talks he and the ministers for Foreign Affairs of Mali and Niger and the Ambassador of Mauritania held with the EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, the High-Level Task Force, and the Executive Secretary of the European Service for External Action, Mr. Pierre Vimont.

For the minister, the (Brussels) follow-up meeting on the Conference on Partnership, Security and Development, held in Algiers last September 7 and 8, is an additional stage in the partnership building process included in the United Nations global strategies to combat terrorism, organized transnational crime, and poverty.

“Our discussions were substantial, useful and credible,” he declared, before underlining that one of the “gains” derived from the Brussels discussions was the reaffirmation of the partnership principle, founded on ownership by the countries of the Sahel of the fight against terrorism, organized crime and poverty.

“The second principle which was agreed on relates to the indivisibleness of security and development,” he said, adding that attention of the European partners was equally drawn to the link which is “increasingly” connecting terrorism to organized crime.
As Mr. Messahel said, “clear” connections are now established between security and poverty. And the poorer the populations, the weaker and, consequently, “victims of manipulation they become.”
Moreover, the Brussels discussions have also provided an opportunity for the countries of the Sahel to reiterate their needs to ensure security in the Sahel, including counterterrorism capacity-building of the countries of the region, provision of related logistical assistance, and intelligence sharing.

In that respect, Mr. Messahel recalled that the European Union has developed a Sahel strategy intended to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the region and to strengthen the capacities of the concerned countries. “In this respect, the EU has allocated 450 million euros in resources,” he said, declaring that the EU officials have reiterated their support of the regional strategy established between the countries of the region, which they view as “indispensible instrument” required for regional security and stability.

Finally, Mr. Messahel said that the representatives of the countries of the Sahel have expressed the wish to see the EU “redirect” the promised funds toward development of the region, namely the completion of the Trans-Sahara Highway, which is a road infrastructure of major significance and into which Algeria has invested significant amounts of efforts and resources, he added. “About $183 million will be needed to finish construction of the remaining legs,” he said.