Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani and his Algerian counterpart Ayman Ben Abdelrahman co-chaired the 22nd session of the Tunisian-Algerian High Joint Commission, held on Wednesday in Algiers. On this occasion, they underlined both countries’ joint keenness to foster bilateral cooperation and diversify the partnerhsip fields so as to meet the aspirations of both countries. In his speech, Hachani welcomed the remarkable development of Tunisian-Algerian cooperation, saying that the challenges facing both countries require “crucial decisions”. Hachani further pointed out that Tunisia began on July 25, 2021 a new reform process led by President Kais Saied. “We are committed to bringing this process to a successful conclusion in order to achieve the aspirations of the Tunisian people”, he added. He also welcomed the wide-raniging structural reforms introduced by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, especially the infrastructure development programme. The Tunisian-Algerian High Joint Committee is another opportunity to assess cooperation between both countries and to examine ways to overcome the posed challenges, he indicated. In this respect, he pointed out that Tuesday’s meeting of the Monitoring Committee had provided an opportunity to take stock of bilateral cooperation and to agree on new cooperation programmes to be inked by the end this session. The PM further welcomed the positive results of the Tunisian-Algerian Economic Forum, which, according to him, will certainly strengthen the private sector’s role in cooperation between both countries. Hachani also pointed to the need to increase consultations between both countries on recent developments in several African countries, adding that Tunisia supports the initiative put forward by Algeria to resolve the crisis in Niger. For his part, the Algerian PM said that the 22nd session of the High Joint Committee’s aim is to draw up concrete projects to benefit the economy and development of the two countries. Ben Abdelrahman called for the human, natural and economic potential of both countries to be used so as to bring a new dynamic to bilateral relations. “We need to update bilateral agreements and implement them in order to take the bilateral relations to higher levels”, he underlined. The cooperation in a number of areas, including trade, industry, agriculture, public works and tourism is still “below expectations”, despite the enormous potential available to Tunisia and Algeria, he added. The Algerian PM further indicated that the Tunisian-Algerian Economic Forum was an opportunity for businessmen and economic players to boost their efforts to promote cooperation between both countries. To this end, he pointed to the need to speed up the setting up of the Tunisia-Algeria Business Council and to implement its goals.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse