Brussels, 09/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - Shortly after its adoption, the holistic strategy of the EU for the security and development of the Sahel - a region increasingly under threat from a multiplication of terrorist and criminal acts committed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and by the impact of the crisis in Libya - gave rise to an initial bipartite follow-up meeting on 8 December.
Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Andris Piebalgs, European Development Commissioner, met Soumeylou Boubèye Maiga, the foreign minister of Mali, Mohamed Bazoum, the foreign minister of Niger and Abdelkader Messahel, the deputy Algerian minister for Maghreb and African affairs.
These are the four countries which have been the most affected by the rise in terrorism, which has in recent weeks seen the kidnapping of five European nationals and the death of a German citizen. The rise of the phenomenon in Nigeria adds to the threat to the region's security.
Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, has for her part held talks with Maïga and Bazoum to discuss ways of sorting out the current food crisis as a matter of urgency, but also of tackling the roots of a plague which is not inevitable, over the longer term. (AN/transl.fl)