Algeria closes border with Mali: official

ALGIERS - Algeria has closed its border with Mali, Foreign Ministry spokesman Amar Belani said Monday.

"We have informed Mali about the measures taken to close the border, which is already secured since the outbreak of the crisis there," Belani was quoted by the official APS news agency as saying at the end of the visit of Malian Prime Minister Diango Cissoko to Algeria.

Belani said the visit of the Malian leader "was an opportunity for the officials of the two countries to reaffirm the good bilateral relations, which are built on good-neighborliness, solidarity and secular relations between their two peoples."

"The in-depth exchange of information and assessments of the situation in both Mali and the region have allowed both sides to reach convergent views on the crisis hitting Mali," Belani noted.

For his part, Cissoko said after meeting with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika that he is "very satisfied" with the outcomes his Algerian visit.

"We have convergent views on key aspects related to the deep crisis hitting Mali, and discussed ways to implement and strengthen our bilateral and sub-regional cooperation in order to eradicate terrorism and organized crime, which constitute the most serious threat to stability and security in the Sahel region," said the Malian prime minister.

Cissoko arrived Sunday in Algeria as part of a two-day working visit.