ALGIERS, (Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2018) The Ministerial Meeting of the 14th session of the Joint Committee between the UAE and Algeria took place yesterday in the Algerian capital, Algiers.
The meeting was chaired by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, and Abdulqader Al Mussahel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria.
The UAE delegation included representatives of various Federal and local government authorities, as well as quasi-government and private companies.
Al Mansouri said that the meetings of the committee were an opportunity to develop and reinforce the bilateral ties between the UAE and Algeria, through opportunities for cooperation and reaching practical suggestions on how to maximise these opportunities and overcome challenges.
He also highlighted the excellent relations between the leadership of the two countries, which has led to the development of their bilateral ties while noting the visit of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to Algeria in 1974, when he met with the late President Hawari Bumadyan and inaugurated the headquarters of the UAE Embassy in Algiers on 7th August 1974.
Al Mansouri expressed the UAE’s happiness at the joint stance of the two Arab countries on many issues, such as Palestine, Libya, and Syria, while adding that he was looking forward to further coordination on regional and international issues, in an effective and positive manner.
"During the Year of Zayed, we remember the noble values and wise diplomacy of the nation’s founder, Sheikh Zayed, who established the foundations of joint Arab action, based on solidarity, cooperation, mutual respect and not intervening in the affairs of other countries," Al Mansouri said.
Regarding the economy, Al Mansouri highlighted the importance of the joint efforts of public and private sectors from both countries to building on their recent achievements and promoting mutual commercial exchange and investments.
He called on Algerian exporters and importers to benefit from the UAE’s advanced ports and logistical facilities, which are ideal centres for the launch, storage and transportation of goods from Algeria to Asian markets while noting that the UAE occupies the 11th position in the international index of logistical services, which includes 160 countries.
Regarding investments, he explained the fact that Emirati investments in Algeria exceeded US$10 billion in various economic sectors while highlighting the opportunities for more Emirati investments, which desire to benefit from the Algerian market and the strategic location of Algeria as a gateway to European and African markets.
He then lauded the investment partnership worth US$1.5 billion between the UAE and Algeria in the iron and steel sector that is expected to generate around 1,600 direct job opportunities and other indirect job opportunities. He also praised the partnership in the energy sector between CEPSA, a company owned by Mubadala, and Sonatrach Algerian, which is valued at $1.2 billion until 2043 and is expected to increase Algerian oil and gas production in the coming years.
Al Mansouri called on the committee’s participants to discuss ways of reinforcing the civil aviation relations between the two countries, through holding more meetings and bilateral negotiations, with the aim of adopting an open sky policy and facilitating entry visa requirements to Algeria, which will directly encourage Emirati tourism and support the Algerian Government’s plan to double the number of foreign tourists visiting the country to 4.4 million by 2027.
Al Mussahel welcomed the visit of Al Mansouri and his delegation while stressing its importance in reinforcing the bilateral ties between the two countries and opening new areas of strategic cooperation, especially in the economy, investments, society and culture.
He added that there are many opportunities for cooperation between the two countries and highlighted the importance of cooperation in the areas of investment, energy, tourism, education, science and technology, sports, culture, food and agriculture. He also noted that the visit will have a direct and positive impact on improving the future strategic relations between the two countries.
Both sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, related to baseline installations, a project of the "Executive Programme of the Cooperation Agreement in Media Religious Affairs 2019-2020," and a project of the "Executive Programme for Media Culture Cooperation 2018-2020," as well as another MoU related to the technical cooperation between the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, ESMA, and the Algerian Institute for Standardisation.
