The Initiative 5+5 bets on Cybersecurity and against jihadism

The Diplomat. Madrid

Moving forward in the multilateral cooperation and turning the western Mediterranean into a privileged forum of trust and security are the objectives of the joint declaration signed yesterday by the ministers of Defence of the Initiative 5+5.

The meeting, chaired by the Spanish Minister, Pedro Morenés, had the presence of his counterparts from France, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Portugal and Tunisia. Algeria and Malta were represented by both delegations, according to information provided by the Ministry of Defence in a statement.

During the work sessions, the ministers expressed their satisfaction with the level of collaboration reached and with the progress made, standing out the Virtual Centre for maritime traffic, the School of Defence 5+5, the Euro-Maghrebi Centre for research and strategic studies, and the mechanism of naval coordination to develop activities of maritime surveillance.

The ministers of Defence highlighted the opportunity that the Initiative offers to go deeply into cooperation related to cyberdefence, to keep making progress in the security of the western Mediterranean and to face illegal immigration, organized crime and jihadist terrorism.

With the signing of this joint declaration, the ministers approved the Plan of Action for 2015 and agreed the launch of a coordination mechanism for training for management of natural disasters and emergencies, as well as for the procedures of medical attention to the population affected and the development of an operative Centre for Coordination and Planning for the support of the Armed Forces as regards Civil Defence.

After this meeting, Spain puts an end to the presidency of the Initiative during 2014 and passes the baton to Tunisia for next year.

The “Initiative 5+5 Defence” was created in 2004, after the signing of a Declaration of Intentions by the ministers of Defence of Algeria, Spain, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Mauritania, Portugal and Tunisia, to favour the mutual knowledge of the members, strengthen the understanding and trust among them and develop multilateral cooperation, with the objective of promoting the security in the western Mediterranean.

Practical activities of common interest are carried out within the annual Plan of Action and focus on three areas: maritime security, air security and participation of the Armed forces supporting Civil Defence.