Italian president starts visit to Algeria to boost energy partnership

Italian President Sergio Mattarella’s two-day visit to Algeria aimed at the boosting of cooperation between the two nations, especially, in the energy sector. Mattarella was welcomed by Tebboune and a number of high-ranking officials, Xinhua News Agency reported.

President Mattarella’s arrival at Algiers International Airport on Saturday continued with the talks with his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune. The two leaders have discussed boosting of bilateral cooperation, notably in the economic field.

The visit provides an opportunity for the two countries to discuss political and economic issues of common interest, as part of the strategic relations between Italy and Algeria.

For Italy, Algeria remains the partner for decades. In the energy sector, the North African country supplies 40 percent of Italian natural gas demand via the 1,200-km-long gas pipeline linking the two countries.

Bilateral trade in the first half of 2021 hit US5.9 billion, of which US4.2 billion came from Algerian exports to Italy. Despite the pandemic, as many as 384 Italian companies are investing in Algeria in different fields, including construction, manufacturing, mining, and engineering studies.