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This week, Frontex hosted a meeting of experts representing 26 African countries and various international organisations to discuss topics related to border management, such as prevention of people smuggling and trafficking, terrorism and other forms of cross-border crime. For the first time, representatives of Algeria and Libya took part in the three-day conference.

“Securing one’s borders, promoting bona fide travel and building a common situational awareness at the borders cannot be achieved in isolation. It is essential to work with different partner authorities at our borders and beyond. Our work through the Africa-Frontex Intelligence Community over the last six years is a proof of successful cooperation across our continents,” said Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri.

“It is of paramount importance that law enforcement agencies work together, share intelligence to help reduce cross-border crime,” he added.

AFIC was set up in 2010 to provide a framework for knowledge and intelligence sharing in the field of border security between Frontex and African countries.

This week’s meeting in Warsaw was the third of a series of workshops organised this year, the previous ones taking place in Ghana and Mauritania. As a result, Frontex produces annual reports, which analyse the irregular migratory movements affecting AFIC countries and EU Member States, cross-border criminality and provide an overview of the main regional security threats.

Other participants of this week’s meeting included representatives of Europol, Interpol, the European Commission, EU Integrated Border Management Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya) and the EU Intelligence and Situation Centre (EU INTCEN).