Three sub committees on issues of security of people and property, socio-economic affairs and administrative cooperation have been set up on Thursday in Niamey, during the meeting of the Algerian-Niger Bilateral Border Committee (BBC).
According to an official of the Ministry of Interior and Local Assemblies, Mohamed Akli Akretche, the subcommittees which are made up of experts and representatives of different sectors will assess the implementation of the recommendations of the last session held in Algiers in December 2011.
The meeting of the BBC "is of paramount importance" as it allows officials from both countries to meet in order to consolidate decentralized bilateral cooperation to which the highest authorities of both countries attach "great interest," according to the same official.
In this regard, the Committee "will decide the forms and modalities to be taken to strengthen cooperation between local assemblies of the two countries through concrete actions, like pairing operations and periodic joint meetings between representatives of local authorities."
"It's no coincidence that two of the sub-committees are co-chaired by the province of Tamanrasset Silmi Belkacem, the governor of Agadez, the Wali of Illizi, Moulati Attalah and the Governor of Tahoua," he said.
The leaders of the communities of the two countries (governors) will have the opportunity to determine the approach to be adopted in terms of local development according to their means and needs by taking advantage of this decentralized cooperation.
Regarding the monitoring of the implementation of recommendations that emerge from this two-day meeting, the official stressed the need to strengthening the BBC, or find solutions to track decisions, recalling that "the current mechanism is a committee of experts who meet twice a year."
"The meeting is a favorable framework to give new impetus to cooperation through more concrete achievements to ensure better living conditions, better stabilization of populations and a more efficient coordination of authorities and institutions at the local level," Akretche affirmed.