Portugal’s Foreign Minister: “Europeans must take a leaf out of Algeria’s telling experience in the fight against extremism

The Algerian experience in de-radicalization is a “source of lessons” and all the Europeans must take this into account, said Sunday in Algiers visiting Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva.

“Algeria’s experience in the process of de-radicalization is so multifarious (…) and a source of lessons that all the Europeans must take into consideration,” said the Portuguese diplomacy Chief in a statement to the press following talks with Minister of Maghreb Affairs, African Union and Arab League Abdelkader Messahel in Algiers.

Mr Santos Silva who underlined that Portugal is also “involved in this front, a very important front in the promotion of democratic values,” said that de-radicalization is “an essential instrument to make our political and geographical environment safe.”

Concerning his meeting with Messahel, that he described as “very interesting” where the discussions focused on the situation in the Mediterranean basin,” a common ground, he said, “which interests both the European and North African countries.”

For his part, Mr Messahel pointed out that the meeting focused mainly on three basic points: the dialogue between Algeria and Portugal, the situation in Libya and Sahel as well as the violent extremism which has become an item included in the agenda of the United Nations.

Mr Messahel further stated that the two sides had also tackled  the burning issue of violent extremism with on focus the telling Algerian experience as well as the positive spin-offs which have been achieved on this track thanks to the clear-sighted policies initiated by the  President of the Republic Mr Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

In this regard, Mr Abdelkader Messahel said that in the field of counterterrorism, Algeria can offer its solid expertise, especially its comprehensive (political, cultural and religious) approach for the long-term fight against the terrorism plague.”

He also underlined Algeria’s “active” contribution in the global fight against terrorism over many years.

Mr Messahel said that the “fight against terrorism is a key priority in the Algerian diplomacy,” adding that “Algeria, which is a founding member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, hosted to this effect a high-level conference on ways and means of stamping out the funding of terrorism, in the first half of 2015.”

“We must dry up the funding sources of this scourge, especially ransom payment and drug trafficking,” he stressed.