ALGIERS - Minister of Interior, Local Authorities and Transport, Said Sayoud, held a working session on Monday in Rome with his Italian counterpart, Matteo Piantedosi, as part of a working visit to Italy, a ministry statement said.

At the start of the meeting, Sayoud welcomed "the determination of the leaderships of both countries to raise Algerian-Italian relations to promising horizons," stressing that "this positive momentum is an incentive to continue broadening the fields of bilateral cooperation and strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries." Irregular migration was also one of the main issues of the talks, with "the Italian side commending the efforts made by the Algerian State to combat this phenomenon," the statement noted.

In this regard, Piantedosi praised "the comprehensive and balanced approach that combines the human dimension of the phenomenon, the related security challenges, and the development dimension linked to the migration issue in Africa." He also commended the results achieved in the fight against migrant smuggling and human trafficking networks, expressing "Italy's satisfaction with the current level of cooperation with Algeria in this field." The two ministers exchanged views on "ways to strengthen security coordination and intensify operational cooperation between the relevant services of both countries, in order to reduce irregular migration and dismantle cross-border criminal networks." At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to "continue expanding the areas of bilateral cooperation, particularly in police cooperation, training, the exchange of expertise and the development of joint action mechanisms, so as to strengthen the strategic partnership between Algeria and Italy in line with the common interests of both countries," the statement concluded.