APS : Thursday, 24 November 2016
MALABO-Minister of Maghreb Affairs, the African Union and the Arab League Abdelkader Messahel underscored Wednesday in Malabo
(Equatorial Guinea) Algeria’s “major interest in its Arab-African strategic depth since its independence.
“Since its independence, Algeria has always attached a major interest in its Arab-African strategic depth,” Messahel said in a speech at the 4th Africa-Arab Summit in Malabo, in which he represents President of the Republic Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Algeria “has never hesitated to support African and Arab states and engage in brotherly relations with them,” the minister stressed, affirming that “Algeria has always sought to support Arab-African cooperation mechanisms and implement its strategies and working plans through all available means.”
As regards human development and academic training, Algeria “Algeria has offered thousands of scholarships to African and Arab students every year,” said the minister, stressing that “over 65,000 African students have received training in Algerian universities and institutes since independence”.
Algeria “is proud of these students’ contribution to the development of their countries thanks the knowledge and skills they acquired in Algeria,” he said.
Besides, Messahel said that Algeria “adhered to multifaceted bilateral and multilateral development programs including the fields of water resources, agriculture, basic infrastructures, exchanged expertise and inked several agreement meant for facilitating capital flux and the movements of goods, services and persons.”
Moreover, Algeria “seeks to intensify tripartite programs thanks to its strategic position that makes the door to Africa and the projects it adopted. The minister recalled that these projects had a real impact on regional integration like the Trans-Saharan road linking Algiers to Lagos and the central port project in Algeria that will facilitate the transit goods, boost the sector or services, and attract foreign investments.
In this regard, the same official recalled that Algeria “will host on 3-5 December the African Business Forum, the first of its kinds as it brings together representatives of governments and economic partners to coordinate efforts aiming at reviving investment in Africa and strengthen trade exchanges in partnership with the private sector with a view to achieving economic integration.”
Algeria willing to strengthen regional, international counterterrorism cooperation
Besides, the minister affirmed that “Algeria, based on its determination to consolidate cooperation in counterterrorism regionally and internationally, has spare no effort to support African and Arab countries in order to strengthen their capacities and exchange information and therefore eliminate terrorism and undermine its plans.”
“Algeria has also sought to strengthen peace at borders to face organized crime, arms trafficking, drugs and human trafficking, which are closely linked to terrorist groups financing,” said Messahel, recalling that Algeria “hosts the two headquarters of the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT).
