Hommam Al Nassim 
The Niger government requested assistance from Algeria to secure trade routes between the two countries, due to the increasing activity of armed groups in northern Niger, near the border with Algeria.
The Nigerian government did not reveal the nature of the requested assistance, and whether it includes military support for commercial convoys.
Algeria has borders with Niger and Mali in the south, with Tunisia and Libya in the east, with Mauritania and Western Sahara in the southwest, and with Morocco in the west.
This request was made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the Nigerien government, Bakary Yawo Singari, during his meeting with Chargé d’Affairs of the Algerian Embassy, Sherif Hussein, on Tuesday evening.
A statement issued by the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the meeting dealt with enhancing cooperation between the two countries, especially in securing roads to facilitate trade, in addition to discussing issues of common interest.
Niger is seeking to increase trade exchange with Algeria after Benin closed its land borders with it, in addition to border problems with Nigeria, and the repercussions of the ECOWAS sanctions since the coup against President Mohamed Bazoum in August 2023.
Last December, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered the government to enhance trade through the “barter” system with Niger, and to expand the list of goods that can be exchanged without financial transactions, with the aim of facilitating the supply of the population of Niger and neighboring countries.
The request for help from Algeria gives an indication of improved relations between the two countries after a diplomatic crisis witnessed at the end of last year due to Algerian mediation in the political crisis in Niger.
At the end of last April, the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs organized a ceremony attended by a number of ambassadors and officials, during which the Algerian Ambassador to Niger, Mehdi Bakhda, was honored with the National Order of Merit, in appreciation of his efforts to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The new Algerian ambassador to Niger, Ahmed Saadi, who was appointed last April, is expected to arrive to assume his duties in the context of improving relations between the two countries.
Niger hopes negotiations with ECOWAS result in lifting sanctions