Launching of International meeting in Algeria to discuss terrorist threats on the Sahel 

An international meeting with 100 security experts has been launched in Algeria on Tuesday to discuss the terrorist threat in the Sahel and West Africa by studying ways to address the two phenomena of the returning of combatants from the sites of conflict and the funding of terrorism.

The three-day meeting is being held in closed sessions within the framework of the United Nations Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), jointly chaired by Algeria and Canada.

The opening of the meeting was held under the auspices of Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel and the Special Adviser on Combating Terrorism, Organised Crime and Intelligence at the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, David Deriki, according to Radio Algeria.

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According to an earlier statement by the Algerian Foreign Ministry, the meeting is attended by about 100 experts in the fields of prevention and combating of terrorism and violent extremism, representing the member states of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, West African countries as well as international and regional organisations.

The statement explained that the meeting workshop will address “issues related to the development of the terrorist threat in the Saharan Sahel region, the management of border security, the return of foreign terrorist combatants, the funding of terrorism, the prevention of extremism and violent extremism and, for the first time, the role of women in combating these scourges.”

“The forum represents a cooperative effort to promote peace, security, and stability in this part of the world and the African continent, which is generally and directly threatened by the growing terrorist threat,” Abdelkader Messahel said at the opening of the meeting.

He added that his country “Algeria is making great efforts to ensure security on its territory and borders. It is also doing its utmost to share its experience with all the countries of the region and the international community as part of bilateral, regional, and international cooperation programs.”