State Secretary Sofiane Chaib Receives Australian Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism Gemma Huggins, Discussing Enhanced Bilateral and International Cooperation

The State Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in charge of the National Community Abroad, Mr. Sofiane Chaib, received today Ms. Gemma Huggins, Ambassador and Special Envoy of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for Counter-Terrorism, who is undertaking a working visit to Algeria from September 27 to 29.

The Australian official's visit to Algeria falls within the framework of enhancing dialogue and cooperation on counter-terrorism issues. Her program also included meetings with officials from the African Centre for Studies and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) and the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (Afripol).

The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss Algeria's experience in combating terrorism and violent extremism, exchange views on the evolution of terrorist threats—particularly on the African continent and in the Sahel region—and explore ways to strengthen cooperation, coordination, and support for international efforts in this field at the multilateral level, notably within the United Nations.

In this context, the State Secretary outlined the pillars of Algeria's comprehensive and integrated approach to counter-terrorism, which combines the effectiveness of security responses with addressing the root causes and conditions exploited by terrorist organizations for recruitment and expansion. This is achieved by strengthening state institutions, supporting development and reconciliation efforts, and enhancing regional and international cooperation and coordination.

Furthermore, the State Secretary addressed the role played by the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in his capacity as the African Union Champion on Counter-Terrorism and Violent Extremism, as well as Algeria's efforts to anchor African ownership and leadership in confronting this scourge. These efforts include optimizing existing continental frameworks and mechanisms and adapting them to the evolving nature of terrorist threats and methods used by terrorist groups, given the threat terrorism poses to the continent's security and stability and its hindrance to development efforts.

At the UN level, the State Secretary highlighted Algeria's contribution to bolstering international counter-terrorism efforts, particularly during its tenure on the Security Council. In this regard, he recalled Algeria's Guiding Principles adopted by the Security Council in January 2025 as a reference framework for enhancing international cooperation in combating terrorist financing and countering the exploitation of modern technologies for terrorist purposes, alongside the efforts exerted by Algeria during its presidency of the Council that same month to drive a more effective international response to this threat.

In the same context, the State Secretary pointed to Algeria's active role in capacity-building for counter-terrorism through its robust contribution within the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), which provides a platform for exchanging expertise and best practices and fostering cooperation in this domain.

The meeting also allowed for an exchange of views on ways to intensify cooperation and coordination within the UN arena, reinforcing complementarity among national, regional, and international efforts to ensure a more inclusive and effective response to the rapid transformations characterizing the terrorist threat.