APS : Wednesday, 22 March 2017
ORAN- The sixth Algeria-Spain Business Forum, held Wednesday in Oran (432-km west of Algiers), has brought together operators from both countries to discuss partnership opportunities mainly in the sectors of agriculture and food-processing.
The meeting was marked by the presence of representatives of the ministry of Industry and Mining, the ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fishing, the National Agency for Investment Development (ANDI), Spanish Ambassador to Algeria Alejandro Polanco and Wali (governor) of Oran Abdelghani Zaalane.
In his address, Zaalane highlighted the assets of the region in the field, and called for the increase of cooperation and investment in the sectors of agriculture and food-processing.
For her part, the Director of Analysis at the Ministry of Industry and Mining, Nabila Sahnoune underlined the complementarity between the two sectors, which contribute in terms of added-value, between 40 and 50 percent compared to the gross domestic product, with 156,000 jobs for a total of 23,000 companies and an annual export volume worth US$400 million.
Algeria has developed strategic actions in the sector of agriculture through multi-sectoral consortiums for the promotion of exports, in addition to the forthcoming creation of a food-processing hub, as part of the pro-Europe programme P3A, she said.
Director General of Casa Del Mediterraneo Miguel Oliveros expressed readiness of his institution to establish contact with Algerian business community.
“Algeria has a huge potential (…) and it is a key country in the development of the Mediterranean region,” he added .
