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The 14th Conference of the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA), has opened in Khartoum, Sudan.

The six-day conference has brought together, security experts, prominent African statesmen and intellectuals.

It is being held under the theme, Comprehensive strategic partnership towards combating terrorism and realising political stability in Africa".

About 10 journalists are attending the conference which seeks to address a number of issues including trans-national crimes, illicit circulation of weapons, drug trafficking, human trafficking and cyber crime, as well as piracy.

Speaking to journalists at the conference centre in Khartoum, the Executive Secretary of CISSA, Mr Shimeles W. Semayat said terrorism was no longer a regional issue, because it affected the entire world and therefore required a comprehensive approach to address it.

Mr Semayat noted that the issue of cyber crime, which was now a new emerging threat, seriously threatened the African region.

He noted that elsewhere, measures had been taken towards addressing it, but Africa was lagging behind.

There was, therefore, the need to intensify efforts towards awareness creation, as awareness was at a very low level.

The Executive Secretary observed that certain measures had been taken, including regional workshops, where a number of recommendations were made, adding that there were plans to design a new strategy to tackle cyber crime.

On the issue of piracy, he said a lot of effort and regional cooperation had been taken, but it still remained a threat and also required joint attention.

Asked about how much of recommendations of previous sessions had been implemented by participating countries, he said it was important to note that countries had reached a consensus on the need to implement them.

Asked if there were sanctions in cases where countries failed to implement recommendations, he said the level and rate of implementation varied from country to country.

"We will continue to encourage countries through follow-up workshops, as well as help them to learn from each other, " he stated.