The 11th meeting of the Chiefs of Naval Staff of the 5+5 Defence Initiative member countries, held on Maritime awareness in the 5+5 initiative area of operations, ended on Tuesday in Tunis.

The meeting, which aims to maintain peace in the western Mediterranean basin, tackled issues related to the threats facing the region, including terrorism, irregular migration and organised crime.

In his remarks, Minister of National Defence Imed Memmich underlined that the Western Mediterranean countries are currently facing the threats of illegal maritime activities.

Keeping peace in the region is the responsibility of the member countries of the 5+5 defence initiative, he added.

The Minister called on the member countries of the Initiative to join efforts and establish cooperation mechanisms capable of building a stable and secure Mediterranean area.

Regarding the recommendations of the meeting, Memmich said they aim to increase regional cooperation between countries bordering the Mediterranean as well as dialogue between member states through the exchange of experiences and expertise in various fields, particularly maritime surveillance.

The 5+5 Defence Initiative is a multilateral cooperation forum between both shores of the Western Mediterranean. It brings together five states of the southern shore (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) and five states of the northern shore (France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain).

It constitutes a preferred framework for fostering mutual knowledge and exchanges on common security challenges of the 5+5 area (notably terrorism, migratory flows, trafficking).

Source: Tap News Agency