Niger and Italy Deepen Security Cooperation Through Strategic Institutional Dialogue

Niamey, December 1, 2025 - The Director of the National Center for Strategic and Security Studies (CNESS), Colonel-Major Mahamadou Nouhou Bako, held a three-hour working session with Italy’s Ambassador to Niger, H.E. Roberto Orlondo, aimed at advancing bilateral security cooperation and strengthening institutional partnerships.

The meeting outlined several concrete areas of collaboration, including plans to establish permanent communication channels between CNESS and Italy’s Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CASD). Both parties also explored modalities for CNESS to take part in Mediterranean security dialogue forums, extending Niger’s engagement beyond its traditional cooperation frameworks.

Colonel-Major Bako briefed the Italian delegation on the center’s ongoing transformation, emphasizing its ambition to evolve into a “center of excellence for strategic analysis and forward-looking security policy development.” Discussions also touched on shared security challenges-particularly maritime security issues affecting landlocked Sahelian countries and cybersecurity capacity building-reflecting Niger’s expanding partnerships with European nations outside the Francophone sphere.