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Niger president visits Algeria pushing for closer bilateral ties

Xinhua, January 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou on Sunday begun a three-day visit to Algeria at the invitation of his counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

President Issoufou was welcomed at the Houari Boumediene international airport of Algiers by Speaker of the Upper House of Parliament, Abdelkader Bensalah.

The visit of the Nigerien president aims to boost bilateral relations of friendship and good neighborhood between Algiers and Niamey, according to a statement of the President Office reported by APS news agency.

The statement noted that the visit of Issoufou would be an opportunity to discuss a couple of international and regional issues of common interest, including the crisis hitting Libya and northern Mali, counter-terrorism, and the fight against trans

Algeria and Niger are members of the Council of Chiefs of Staff of Sahel countries, as they coordinate efforts with Mauritania and Mali to fight against terrorism and organized crime in the Sahel sub-region.

While in Algeria, Issoufou will discuss with officials the issue of his compatriot illegal migrants in this north African nation.

In fact, Algeria said last week that 2,536 Nigerien refugees were sent back to their country of origin since last December, at the request of their government. Endit