Algérie Presse Service (APS) – August 7, 2012
In their final declaration, the ministers of the Sahel countries (Algeria, Mali, Niger and Mauritania) recalled that “the strategy being implemented is founded on the intertwined and inseparable dimensions of security and development” and that the fight against terrorism and transnational crime led on the ground “require the support of the international community.”

Minister Delegate for Maghreb and African Affairs Abdelkader Messahel represented Algeria at the Niamey meeting. The ministers have also examined, in light of the reports submitted by the Liaison and Fusion Unit (LFU) and by the Joint Operation General Staff Committee (CEMOC), “the state of the threat in the region and the measures taken to combat terrorism and transnational organized crime,” the declaration added.

The ministers reviewed the outcome of the proceedings of the LFU, held on June 27 in Algiers, and CEMOC, which met in Nouakchott, Mauritania last July 12, and took note of updated information on the state of the threat and the measures taken to consolidate the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime. In that context, the ministers encouraged the two mechanisms to “strengthen their methods of action and to adapt tem to the current threat.”

Moreover, the ministers recalled the relevance of the conclusions reached at the High-Level Conference on Partnership, Security and Development convened in Algiers on September 7 and 8, 2011, and the significance and urgency of implementing them.

The participants agreed to convene a second high-level conference on security and development in Niamey at a date to be determined jointly by the countries of the Sahel region. They have reiterated their “active solidarity with the brotherly people of Mali and renewed their commitment to support them until the situation in the country returns to normal,” the declaration said.

With regards to the conflict in Mali and its consequences on the countries of the region, the ministers of the Sahel countries underscored in their declaration that seeking a solution to the crisis in Mali “requires a resolute and urgent action, namely based on preserving the national unity and territorial integrity of Mali, installing in Bamako transitional authorities that are “strong, consensual and representative able to constitute a reliable and credible partner.”

Furthermore, the participants expressed their satisfaction with the return to Bamako of transition president Dioncounda Traoré and with the effective exercise of his duties. They also took note of his proposals aimed at “completing the institutional architecture of Mali” and noted with satisfaction the ongoing consultations toward forming “a government of national unity (that is) consensual and representative of all vital forces of the nation.”

The ministers also urged all Malians and the international community to, respectively, “subscribe to this process” and “support” it and strongly called on the Malian people “to agree with each other, reconcile, and unite around the ideals of national unity, concord and peace.”

The ministers considered that the situation in Mali “holds challenges for the countries of the Sahel region, in terms of national stability and regional security.” In this respect, they underscored their commitment “to actively and jointly contribute to seeking the ways and means likely to guarantee the stability and security of Mali and the sub-region, namely through joint action aimed at facilitating dialogue among the different actors involved.”

The ministers took note of the resolutions and recommendations passed by Ecowas, the African Union, and the United Nations, namely the Solemn Declaration on the Situation in Mali adopted at the 19th ordinary summit meeting of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held in Addis Ababa last July 16, the communiqué issued by the 327th meeting, held at the level of Heads of State and Government, of AU Council for Peace and Security, last July 14, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 2056 (2012) on Mali.

Finally, the participants agreed to hold their next meeting in Algiers at a date to be jointly determined.