A Two-day visit of Malian Prime Minister, Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga, to Algeria. 13-14/01/2018.
The Prime Minister, Ahmed Ouyahia affirmed, during his meeting Saturday in Algiers with his Malian counterpart, Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga, that Algeria « is working towards the enhancement of the bilateral relations in different fields and the boosting of the economic cooperation ».
Responding to questions from journalists after his meeting with his Malian counterpart, Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga, at the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Ouyahia said that the role currently expected of Algeria, after the important steps taken under his supervision that gave way to peace in Mali, was to « encourage the Malian movements to take farther steps and to get closer to the Malian authorities »
« It is an honor for Algeria to have given support to the Malian brothers during their dialogue in their country and to have contributed to the rapprochement of visions, which led to the signing of the peace and reconciliation agreement in Mali ».
Mr. Ouyahia added that his meeting with his Malian counterpart « was the opportunity to examine the bilateral cooperation and the situation in the region, on the basis of the guidelines of Presidents Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta ».
He added that talks focused on security in northern Mali, Ouyahia said « we reiterated to our Malian brothers Algeria’s solidarity with their concerns in terms of restoring security and preserving national sovereignty and territorial integrity « .
Referring also to the security situation in the Sahel region, Mr Ouyahia highlighted « the convergence of views on the imperative need of combating terrorism and cross-border crime, as well as the need for solidarity among neighboring countries in the Sahel region « .
Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel and the Minister of the Interior and Local Authorities, Noureddine Bedoui attended the meeting.
Malian Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga on Saturday hailed Algeria’s « readiness » to remain on the side of Mali for the restoration of peace and stability in that country.
« The meeting I had with my Algerian counterpart offered an opportunity for me to confirm Algeria’s readiness to stay on the side of Mali in order to advance along the path to the stabilization of the country« , said Mr. Maïga at a press briefing he jointly held with Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia.
Recalling that the peace and reconciliation agreement in Mali is the outcome of the Algiers process, Maïga stressed that Algeria « plays a major role in terms of peace, stability and security in Mali and in the sub-region « , expressing the desire of the Malian authorities to be able to » make significant progress « and stabilize its entire territory.
He recalled in this direction that the President of the Republic, Abdelaziz Bouteflika had stayed during the 60s in Gao (northern Mali), where he led the southern front of the Algerian Liberation War.
Maïga also noted that his country « is trying to draw inspiration from the Algerian experience of national reconciliation », saying that this experience « is a good case study in this area ».
He added that his visit to Algeria was an opportunity to « carry out an assessment of the Algeria–Mali relations and consider giving them a new impetus » in particular by ensuring « security issues » are under control.
