A high level meeting of Niger- Nigeria Joint Cooperation Commission was held on Thursday in Niamey in the presence of the two countries' presidents, Issoufou Mahamadou and Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

During the opening of the meeting, Issoufou recalled the "special" friendly relations between Niger and Nigeria and noted that the assessment of the last 41 years since the creation of the joint commission is "very positive."

"Our border was peacefully demarcated, cross-border security and food security were enhanced, the roads were constructed, the energy interconnections were achieved, the cross-border basins were well managed, we have jointly taken part in efforts to fight against desertification and soil degradation," Issoufou said.

He further said that the two sides "have shared common water points, trade and investments were encouraged, we have had exchanges in the health, education, livestock keeping as well as in cultural domains and we have managed to organize sporting competitions between our two nations."

He however noted that much remains to be done, especially in mutualization of the efforts in matters of defense and security, promotion of road and railway infrastructure and the completion of the laying of the fibre optic cable that runs from Nigeria through Niger to Algeria.

He urged his Nigerian counterpart not to tolerate what is currently going on in Mali and not to relent in the fight against groups that want to radicalize Islam.

At the end of the meeting, the two leaders agreed on the need to start joint patrols along the borders to increase security within their countries.

Issoufou and Goodluck were satisfied with the creation of common consular chambers in the two countries.

Regarding the sub-regional security, the two leaders expressed their concern over the dangers posed by international terrorism that is promoted by groups such as al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI), Boko Haram and other "criminal organizations" that threaten the stability of the sub-region.

Issoufou and Goodluck further agreed on the need to help Mali recover its territorial integrity in accordance with the decisions taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the resolutions adopted on October 12 by the United Nations Security Council.