Algeria, Tunisia hand in hand to fight regional terror threat

Tunisia and Algeria said Sunday they will sign a new security cooperation agreement amid growing terrorist threat in the region.

The two neighboring nations will sign seven cooperation agreements in various areas during the High Joint Commission due on March 9 in Tunis, Algerian Minister of Maghreb Affairs, African Union and Arab League Abdelkader Messahel told reporters in Algiers following the end of the 19th session of the Algerian-Tunisian Monitoring Committee, which he co-chaired with visiting Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui.

Jhinaoui said this forthcoming security agreement would boost security and military cooperation to address the dangers facing our two countries, especially terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime, illegal migration and human-trafficking.

He added that the security cooperation agreement shows the strong relations between the two countries and the convergence of their views on the necessity to preserve the security of Algeria and Tunisia amid growing terrorist threats in the region.

Messahel further added that Algiers and Tunis are also set to sign an agreement on the delimitation of maritime boundaries between the two countries, saying those agreements would help boosting development efforts and broadening economic, trading and industrial partnership.

Messahel added that the meeting of the Algerian-Tunisian Monitoring Committee, held on 4 and 5 March, assessed the joint action recommended in the 20th session of the High Joint Commission, which took place in Algiers in Oct. 2015.

He specified that trade exchange between the two countries exceeded US$1 billion in 2016, while 1.2 million Algerian tourists visited the neighbouring country last year.

Later on Sunday, Tunisian FM was received by Prime Minister, Abdelmalek Sellal, as "they discussed means to strengthen traditional brotherly and friendship ties between the two countries on the eve of the 21st High Algerian-Tunisian Joint Committee," said a statement of the PM Office.

The two parties agreed to further consolidating political consultation over regional and international issues of common interest, as well as boosting security coordination, development of cross-border regions, and the free movement of people and goods.

Source: Xinhua