MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/. Representatives of the Russian and Algerian foreign ministries discussed prospects for cooperation in combating transnational crime and terrorism, noting their shared assessments of the scale of the terrorist threat in West Africa, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The meetings were held during intergovernmental Russian-Algerian consultations on new challenges and threats. The Russian delegation was led by Pyotr Ilyichev, Director of the Department for New Challenges and Threats at the Russian Foreign Ministry, and the Algerian delegation was led by Abdelghani Merabet, Director General for Multilateral Relations at the Algerian Foreign Ministry.
"The sides confirmed their similar assessments of the scale of the terrorist threat in West Africa, compared approaches of our countries to counter international terrorist organizations under the coordinating role of the UN, and agreed to continue productive cooperation, including further consultations," the ministry stated.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also noted that the delegation previously met with the leadership of the Counterterrorism Center of the African Union in the country’s capital, Algiers. "In line with the 2023-2026 Action Plan of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum and the Joint Statement of participants of the Second Ministerial Conference of the Forum, Pyotr Ilyichev and Acting Director of the Center Idris Munir Lallali exchanged views on developing cooperation and strengthening capacity in areas such as combating transnational crime, terrorism and free movement of foreign terrorist fighters, countering the use of information and communication technologies by terrorists, terrorism financing, and other topics," the Foreign Ministry said.
The sides agreed to continue organizing training courses on issues of mutual interest by the relevant authorities in Russia and Africa.
"The ways of further expanding cooperation in financial security were also discussed," the ministry noted.