Algeria and Italy have agreed to deepen security cooperation aimed at curbing irregular migration, human trafficking and cross-border crime following talks between the two countries’ interior ministers in Rome.
Algerian Interior Minister Said Sayoud met his Italian counterpart, Matteo Piantedosi, on Monday to discuss stronger coordination against migrant smuggling networks and other forms of organised crime, according to a statement issued by Algeria’s Interior Ministry.
The statement said Italy praised Algeria’s efforts to tackle irregular migration through what it described as a comprehensive approach combining security, humanitarian and development measures.
Italian officials also welcomed Algeria’s actions against human trafficking and migrant smuggling, expressing satisfaction with the current level of bilateral cooperation.
The two ministers agreed to expand collaboration in police training, intelligence and expertise-sharing, as well as joint operational mechanisms designed to strengthen the strategic partnership between Algiers and Rome.
Security cooperation between the two countries is based on a bilateral agreement signed in 1999 covering irregular migration and the return of undocumented migrants.
The framework was broadened in February 2024 to include cooperation against drug trafficking, cybercrime, financial and economic offences, human trafficking and wider coordination between Algerian and Italian security agencies.
Although migration flows from Algeria remain relatively limited compared with other Mediterranean routes, small numbers of Algerian migrants continue to travel from the country’s eastern coastline towards the Italian island of Sardinia.