ALGIERS — The
Algerian and French prime ministers on Monday
hailed a “new dynamic” as they launched a joint economic forum during a visit
to Algiers by France’s Elisabeth Borne.
اضافة اعلان
Borne’s two-day trip to the major gas exporter and
former French colony comes just weeks after President
Emmanuel Macron concluded
his own three-day visit in August, following months of tensions.
In remarks during the forum’s inauguration, Algerian
Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane called for “a sustainable dynamic” in
trade with France based on “reciprocity and mutual interests”.
Borne called for “a new dynamic of economic
cooperation”.
Before returning to Paris, she also met with
President Abdelmajid Tebboune and said bilateral ties will continue with
“regular visits and exchanges on the economic, political and technical levels”.
Borne and her cohort are the latest in a string of
top European officials to visit Algeria, Africa’s top natural gas exporter, as
officials seek alternatives to Russian energy supplies since the start of the
war in Ukraine.
The EU’s energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, is also
expected in Algiers on Monday and Tuesday.
But ahead of her trip, Borne’s office said
deliveries of natural gas to France were “not on the table”.
Economic diversification
Both Borne and
Benabderrahmane stressed the need for Algeria to pursue economic
diversification.
France is “the first investor in Algeria, excluding
hydrocarbons”, Borne told the forum, adding that French businesses are “ready
to support the diversification” of Algeria’s economy.
Benabderrahmane said Algeria must “end its
dependence on natural gas and attract foreign investment” in agriculture,
pharmaceutical and vaccine production, and renewable energy, which “offer
positive prospects for French businesses”.
The two-day business forum was organized by the
Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Business France, a government
agency promoting international investment, which brought representatives of
some 70 French firms to the event.
Ties between the North African country and its
former colonial ruler had deteriorated after Macron last year questioned
Algeria’s existence as a nation before the French occupation, and accused the
government of fomenting “hatred towards France”.
But the contentious subject of the two countries’
history, particularly during the war, was not set to feature prominently on
Borne’s agenda.
Algiers and Paris maintain bilateral trade at a
large scale, with France being the second largest investor in Algeria,
according to the International Monetary Fund.
Fabrice Le Sache, the vice president of French
business lobby group Medef, on Monday hailed “the dynamic created by the
president” during his August visit.
Macron produced a good “atmosphere” for the business
community, he told AFP at the forum on Monday.
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