Madrid  - Spain and France are stepping up cooperation against drug-trafficking, French Justice Minister Rachida Dati and her Spanish counterpart Mariano Fernandez Bermejo announced Thursday.

The two countries were creating joint teams comprising police and other experts, the ministers said at a joint press conference after holding talks in Madrid.

The teams will include a liaison group as well as investigative teams for identifying criminals and analysing their finances and other modes of operating.

The liaison group was due to attend a bilateral meeting of justice and interior ministers in late May or early June. Some of the other experts have already held meetings.

Before meeting Bermejo, Dati had lunch with Infrastructure Minister Magdalena Alvarez, Equality Minister Bibiana Aido and Housing Minister Beatriz Corredor, three of the nine female ministers in Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's new female-dominated cabinet.

Dati also visited Madrid's National Court, the main tribunal dealing with violent Basque separatism, another area of judicial cooperation between Spain and France. (dpa)