Egypt Discusses with the Sahel-Saharan States Ways to Fight Terrorism

Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdel Atti, expressed Cairo’s readiness to support the Sahel-Saharan States in facing “common challenges,” focusing on counterterrorism, illegal immigration, and building security capacities.

This came during discussions held by Abdel Atti yesterday (Thursday) with Ambassador Adu Haji Abi, the Executive Secretary of the Sahel-Saharan States Organization, a regional organization comprising 25 African countries, abbreviated as (CEN-SAD).

The regional organization, founded in 1998 and headquartered in N’Djamena, Chad, has been facing stagnation for years, not only due to the increasing security risks in the region but also because of disagreements among member states, in light of the ongoing international conflicts in the Sahel and North Africa.

During the meeting between the Egyptian Foreign Minister and the Executive Secretary of the regional organization, Abdel Atti expressed Egypt’s willingness to support the organization in “facing challenges.” He also emphasized Egypt’s readiness to provide “technical and logistical support” to the Sahel-Saharan States, focusing on “mechanisms to enhance the role of the organization and contribute to developing a comprehensive plan for financial and administrative reforms to activate the organization’s role.”

In this context, Abdel Atti stressed the “importance of activating the role of the Sahel-Saharan Center for Counterterrorism,” a specialized center based in Cairo, noting that the center must be able to “build the capacities of member states in counterterrorism.”

Abdel Atti also explained that the center would help “unite efforts to face the security threats in the region, focusing on supporting youth rehabilitation programs and combating extremist ideologies.”

In the past few days, the Egyptian Foreign Minister visited Chad, where he delivered a message from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to his Chadian counterpart, Mahamat Idriss Déby. He was accompanied by a delegation of companies and businessmen to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

During the visit, the Egyptian Foreign Minister stated that “there is a great ambition to advance relations between Egypt and Chad in all fields,” noting that Egyptian companies held significant meetings with Chadian ministers of communications and health.

During the visit, it was announced that a joint committee for cooperation between Egypt and Chad would be formed, with its first meeting expected in March next year in Cairo to work on joint project plans.

Chadians are also seeking to import medicine from Egyptian companies, which the Egyptian Foreign Minister described as a “promising field,” calling Egyptian medicine “high quality and affordable.”

Abdel Atti concluded by expressing his optimism about the future of relations between Egypt and Chad, mentioning that they have “ideas to provide funding lines and implement these joint projects.”