German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday began a two-day visit to Algeria as part of effort to bolster economic relations with North African countries.
The visit is also expected to stem migration to Germany ahead of national elections this year.
Merkel is to be received with military honours in Algiers by Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal, a government Spokesperson in Berlin said.
Key topics on the agenda are economic development, migration and security in the region, the spokesperson said in a statement.
Sellal and Merkel are scheduled to have dinner after a press conference.
The German chancellor will then hold talks with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Merkel is also expected to meet with civil society representatives and visit a school for girls where the German language is taught.
Merkel’s government is seeking to forge closer relations with North African countries such as Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in order to speed up deportations of unsuccessful asylum seekers from those countries.
Algeria shares borders with Mali and Niger, both of which are key transit countries for migrants and refugees, as well as Libya where around 90 per cent of the migrants arriving in Europe via the Mediterranean set sail from.
(Source: NAN)
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