Algeria and Niger have enhanced their growing strategic partnership by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on military cooperation. Said Chengriha, chief of Staff of the Algerian Armed Forces, and Salifou Modi, Niger’s defense minister, signed the MOU following talks held on 21 October in Algiers, according to a statement released by the Algerian Ministry of National Defense. The talks were also attended by the commanders of the Algerian Army and Air Force, the head of the Algerian National Gendarmerie, and representatives of the defense ministries of both countries.

“I confirm the full readiness of the Algerian People’s National Army to consider any proposal from the Nigerien side aimed at strengthening co-operation in the field of defense and security,” Chengriha stated at the meeting.

Niger’s defense minister, for his part, praised the level of co-ordination between the armed forces of the two countries.

The military cooperation will help suppress the Tuareg separatist militants and terrorist organizations linked to ISIS and Al Qaeda who operate on both sides of the Niger-Algeria border. Earlier this year Algeria gave Niger four Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, helicopter gunships, and military transports. The two countries in recent months have begun cooperation in the energy and infrastructure sectors. This cooperation has been extended to Mali, Niger’s ally in the Alliance of Sahel States, which also includes Burkina Faso.