From May 26 to 29, the Minister of State, Minister of the Interior, Public Security and Territorial Administration, Major General Mohamed Toumba, participated in Moscow in the work of the International Security Forum ISF-26. Bringing together delegations from about 120 countries, the forum provided a platform for senior officials to discuss the challenges and threats to international security in a multipolar world.
On May 28, during the meeting of Senior Officials in charge of Security Issues, General Toumba stressed the importance of these exchanges in the face of deep geopolitical changes that particularly affect the states of the Sahel and Africa. He recalled the vulnerable position of Niger, located at the heart of the Sahelo-Saharan space and sharing a 5,690 km border with seven neighboring countries: Nigeria, Benin, Algeria, Libya, Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The Minister painted an alarming picture of the multidimensional threats that have struck Niger for more than a decade: terrorism, transnational organized crime, illicit trafficking, information destabilization and the instrumentalization of community tensions.
He mentioned the atrocities committed by so-called jihadist groups in the region and denounced the use of mercenaries, as well as the infiltration of humanitarian and associative channels that would serve to finance criminal networks.
Faced with these challenges, General Toumba insisted on the need for an international and regional synergy of actions capable of anticipating, preventing, reacting and acting at the level of the new threats. For him, thinking about security involves the establishment of a genuine system of common security, equitable and respectful of the legitimate concerns of all states.
The Minister advocated for an international and regional architecture beneficial to the area of the Authority of the State (AES) based on integrated mechanisms for demobilizing illegal transnational actors and combining development and military efforts, adapted to the sociopolitical realities of crisis-stricken states.
Finally, General Toumba reaffirmed Niger's commitment, in solidarity with other countries in the region, to the goals and principles of the United Nations, while calling for overcoming unilateral practices, bloc confrontation and hegemony. He also expressed his support for Russian initiatives in global security, noting the importance of a constructive partnership to address common threats.
The Minister's visit to the Russian Federation was punctuated by several audiences and bilateral meetings, strengthening diplomatic presence and cooperation on security issues.
Source: Nigerien Ministry of the Interior
