9th session of Algerian Joint Committee convenes in Amman

AMMAN — Following up on His Majesty King Abdullah's visit to Algeria in December last year, the ninth session of the Algerian Joint Committee convened in Amman on Monday under the chairmanship of Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply and Minister of Labour, Yousef Al Shamali. 

The outcomes of the committee meeting include important conventions and memorandums of understanding to strengthen bilateral cooperation in several areas, based on the Royal visit to Algeria and subsequent mutual visits, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Shamali noted the importance of the achievements in bilateral cooperation reached in a short period of time, including the reopening of direct flights, which include four direct flights per week with two flights per each country’s national airline, as well as an agreement for a number of Jordanian hospitals to receive Algerian patients. Other agreements include cooperation in health-related areas and agreements to exchange expertise in agriculture, human resources training, employment and social security.

The minister pointed out that Jordan's trade with Algeria remains modest, and did not exceeded $249 million last year, requiring the two countries to remove barriers to trade. 

Shamali stressed that the next phase will see intensive action from both sides to implement the agreements and to follow up on and assess the work being implemented.