African, EU ministers tackle migrant question

Niamey. Ministers from 13 African and European countries held talks along with the EU on Friday on cracking down on migrant traffickers, with France calling for firmer action on smuggling networks in African countries.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb called on counterparts in the Nigerien capital Niamey to take action “as close as possible to the countries of origin and transit of migrants.”

Niger, one of the large nations lying south of the Sahara in West Africa, has become one of the main routes for African migrants heading north to the Mediterranean coast in the hope of crossing to Europe.

The “conference on coordination of the struggle against traffickers of migrants” was attended by ministers from Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal, with representatives from France, Germany, Italy and Spain and the European Union.

“Efficiency can be significantly improved through good security cooperation, at national and regional level, among the countries of origin and transit,” Nigerien Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum told the meeting in opening remarks. (AFP)