A meeting in Ouagadougou of security ministers of the Alliance of Sahel States on Wednesday has been examining mechanisms aimed at strengthenining security cooperation.
The officials from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are looking to ensure that measures will also facilitate the free movement of people and goods, and intensify the fight against terrorism and cross-border crime.
The AES confederation’s security ministers dedicated the Ouagadougou meeting to operationalising the cooperation instruments provided for in the Additional Protocol on Security and the Free Movement of Persons and Goods.
Presiding over the opening ceremony, Burkina Faso’s security minister Mahamadou Sana, indicated that the talks focused in particular on an additional security protocol and a technical arrangement concerning roadside checks.
According to him, these texts will strengthen the confederation’s legal and operational framework,
while also helping to reduce extortion and harassment on major roads.
The ministers also assessed the progress made in implementing the biometric national identity card and the AES passport, as well as in harmonising roadside check procedures between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
Representing Mali, Oumar Sogoba reaffirmed the member states’ commitment to strengthening their cooperation in addressing security challenges through resource sharing, coordinated actions, and harmonised strategies.
Niger’s Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Major General Mohamed Toumba, welcomed the experts’ conclusions and called for the adoption of the draft texts, which he described as essential instruments for consolidating security and facilitating free movement within the confederation.
The participants also announced the future interoperability of databases on wanted persons and property between the three countries.
This measure aims to improve intelligence sharing and strengthen the fight against terrorism, transnational organized crime, and other cross-border threats.
This meeting illustrates the desire of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to accelerate the security integration of their confederation by strengthening common mechanisms for cooperation and
movement.
HO/te/Sf/fss/as/APA