Algeria on Monday reaffirmed its central role in Africa’s collective fight against terrorism as it hosted the opening of a consultative workshop dedicated to reviewing the Continental Strategic Plan of Action to Combat Terrorism. The meeting brought together senior officials and experts from African institutions, regional economic communities, and security mechanisms, reflecting a strong shared commitment to addressing one of the most serious threats facing the continent.
Opening the workshop, Selma Bakhta Mansouri, Algeria’s Secretary of State in charge of African Affairs, warned that terrorism in Africa is no longer a temporary or geographically confined phenomenon. She stressed that it has evolved into a cross-border, adaptive threat fueled by transnational organized crime, illicit economies, illegal exploitation of resources, and the growing misuse of modern technologies, compounded by structural fragilities in several states. Mansouri noted that Africa today bears a disproportionate burden of this danger, accounting for more than 70 percent of global terrorism victims, a reality that undermines state authority, derails development paths, and fuels cycles of instability.
She recalled that African leaders, during the African Union’s extraordinary summit in Malabo in 2022, called for a comprehensive review and strengthening of the continental counterterrorism response. This process, she said, aligns with the mandate entrusted to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in his capacity as the African Union’s lead on counterterrorism and the prevention of violent extremism, aimed at mobilizing political will at the highest levels and reinforcing African ownership of counterterrorism strategies. Mansouri underlined the need for a more coherent and integrated continental approach that consolidates Africa’s role as a strategic actor in the global counterterrorism effort, with the proposed strategic plan serving as the central reference framework for continental, international, and bilateral engagement.
The Algerian official also emphasized the importance of activating key continental mechanisms, including the African Counterterrorism Fund, the African Arrest Warrant, and the African list of terrorist entities, as well as strengthening the role of the Peace and Security Council’s subcommittee on terrorism. She highlighted capacity-building for African security structures—such as the African Standby Force, Afripol, the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa, and the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism—as a decisive factor for the effectiveness of any collective response. Concluding her address, Mansouri reiterated Algeria’s unwavering commitment to its African responsibilities and expressed hope that the workshop would yield strong, practical recommendations commensurate with the scale of the challenges, before officially declaring the workshop open.
