In a move reflecting the deepening security alignment between Algeria and Tunisia, the two neighbors signed a new defense cooperation agreement in Algiers on October 7, 2025, aimed at strengthening joint military capabilities and border security coordination. The accord, announced by Tunisia’s Ministry of Defense, builds upon a 2001 framework agreement and introduces expanded provisions for training, information sharing, intelligence exchange, and counterterrorism operations.
A Renewed Framework for Partnership
According to Tunisia’s official press agency (TAP), the agreement was signed during the visit of Tunisian Defence Minister Khaled Shili, who met with General Saïd Chengriha, Chief of Staff of the Algerian People’s National Army and Minister Delegate to the Minister of National Defence. The meetings, held from October 6 to 8, included working sessions focused on strengthening mutual defense mechanisms and developing joint military training programs.
The two sides described the move as an “upgrading” of their existing defense partnership, making it more comprehensive and “responsive to the aspirations of both nations.” Areas of cooperation include:
Joint exercises and field coordination along shared borders
Exchange of military expertise and intelligence
Technical and operational training programs
Collaboration against terrorism, trafficking, and irregular migration
Enhanced consultation through a Joint Military Commission.
General Chengriha lauded the accord as “a milestone in Algeria–Tunisia relations,” underscoring its potential to “strengthen operational capabilities and ensure regional stability.” Tunisian counterparts echoed this sentiment, framing the pact as an extension of their commitment to collective security against cross-border threats in North Africa and the Western Mediterranean.
A Strategic Axis in the Maghreb
The new deal marks an important consolidation of the Algeria–Tunisia security axis, which has become more visible since 2022 through regular intelligence exchanges and coordinated patrols along the porous borders of the Chaambi and El Oued regions. These zones have long served as trafficking and insurgency corridors linked to extremist cells affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Islamic State (IS) remnants.
The strengthened partnership serves both nations’ strategic interests. Tunisia seeks stronger security guarantees amid domestic economic pressures, while Algeria aims to solidify its role as a regional security anchor curbing Western and NATO-aligned presence in the Maghreb. This agreement is an extension of Algeria’s broader effort to build structural alliances with its neighbors, reducing reliance on extra-regional partners and asserting leadership in North African defense diplomacy.
Context and Regional Dynamics
The accord comes amid shifting geopolitical balances in North Africa and the wider Sahel. After years of instability in Libya and lingering insecurity along Tunisia’s borders, Algiers has turned its attention to consolidating security cooperation with its immediate neighbors rather than broader Sahel partnerships.
While Algeria once coordinated counterterrorism operations through the Tamanrasset-based Joint Military Staff Committee (CEMOC) with Mali, Niger, and Mauritania, that framework has largely collapsed over the past two years due to political ruptures between Algiers and the three Alliance of Sahel States (AES) regimes—Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Relations have been strained by Algeria’s mediation role in Mali’s 2015 peace accords and diplomatic clashes following the Sahel juntas’ turn toward Moscow.
In this context, Algeria has shifted its focus toward securing its eastern flank. The new defense agreement with Tunisia represents the most stable and active element of Algiers’ regional strategy, prioritizing border control, counterterrorism coordination, and intelligence sharing. Mauritania remains the only Sahel state maintaining structured bilateral cooperation with Algeria, while security coordination with Mali and Niger is now suspended.
The Algeria–Tunisia pact thus marks a significant recalibration—from multilateral Sahel frameworks to a bilateral security axis that reflects both countries’ shared interest in safeguarding their borders and stabilizing the Western Mediterranean corridor.
Tunisia, meanwhile, faces heightened domestic security challenges, with the Ministry of Interior reporting more than 140 counterterrorism operations between January and September 2025, particularly in Kasserine and Kef governorates. The country has also intercepted thousands of migrants attempting to cross towards Europe via coastal routes—a burden that has increased the need for cross-border coordination with Algeria.
The Road Ahead
Official statements from the Tunisian Ministry of Defense and Algerian Ministry of National Defense emphasize that the success of the October 2025 defense agreement will depend on sustained follow‑up through their Joint Military Commission, the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating training, border security, and intelligence exchange between the two militaries.
While neither side has yet announced a date for the Commission’s next session, both ministries reaffirmed during the October 6–8 visit of Tunisian Defense Minister Khaled Shili to Algiers that regular consultations remain a priority within the new cooperation framework.
The pact was presented as a mechanism for institutionalizing bilateral defense coordination, expanding the earlier 2001 agreement to cover joint operations, information sharing, and field assistance against cross‑border threats such as terrorism, smuggling, trafficking, and irregular migration.
This renewed partnership also reflects the asymmetry between the two countries’ military capacities. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Algeria remains Africa’s largest defense spender, with an estimated 2025 budget approaching $25 billion, up from $21.8 billion in 2024 . By contrast, Tunisia’s defense expenditure is roughly $1.4 billion based on 2025 assessments by Global Firepower and Trading Economics, equivalent to around 2 percent of GDP.
This disparity gives Algeria far greater operational leverage and regional projection capabilities, while Tunisia’s military remains primarily defensive and border‑oriented. Tunisian officers have maintained that autonomy in command and decision‑making will guide cooperation with Algiers, avoiding over‑reliance on a larger partner despite economic and logistical constraints — a theme echoed in Tunisia’s official communiqué following the agreement.
For Algeria, the accord consolidates its security buffer west‑to‑east at a time of uncertainty in neighboring Libya and growing Russian, Turkish, and American competition in the Mediterranean. For Tunisia, the deal represents a pragmatic choice — prioritizing stability and coordination along its 965‑kilometer frontier with Algeria, even as the country seeks to preserve policy independence in a shifting regional environment.
