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NIAMEY (Reuters) - Mali and Niger, two West African neighbours struggling to contain groups linked to al Qaeda groups in their desert regions, plan to enter into a formal defence agreement aimed at improving military cooperation.

The Islamist threat has risen in recent years across the Sahara-Sahel regions of West Africa, with gunmen kidnapping foreigners for ransom and attacking government troops.

"Given our geography, this agreement will reinforce cooperation between our armies and boost stablity all the way along our shared border," said a statement read on state television in Niger late on Thursday.

Niger's military rulers had to ratify the agreement after it was initially signed in Mali late last year.

The two nations will share land, air and river bases, exchange intelligence and carry out joint patrols and exercises.

Western powers led by France and the United States have stepped up their counter-terrorism efforts in the region but analysts say this has been hamstrung by regional rivalries and the lack of coordination between nations.

Islamists and local bandits working with them move freely across the vast, open desert spaces, which also take in Algeria to the north and Mauritania to the west.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are currently holding a group of seven foreigners, five of whom are French, taken last year from the Niger mining town of Arlit.

Three Frenchmen have been killed over the last year after they were kidnapped in the desert region.