French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said that his country wants to regain its position as Algeria’s top trading partner, having lost the position to China in recent years.
Valls made his remarks during the opening of the 3rd session of the Algeria-France High Level Intergovernmental Committee (CIHN) held in Algiers on Sunday, attended by the Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal and a number of businessmen from both countries.
Valls said that there are some 500 French companies operating in Algeria, stressing on the need to consolidate relations between Europe and Africa to meet the current challenges.
The Algerian Prime Minister said that there are 26 agreements between the two countries in several areas, including health, education and the judiciary.
He said in a press conference held after the meeting that businessmen from both countries have signed a total of 12 agreements to establish joint ventures in several sectors and that there are talks for partnerships in different sectors.
China has been the main exporter to Algeria since 2013. Chinese exports to Algeria in 2015 were valued at nearly $8 billion while French exports in the same year amounted to an estimated $5 billion.
The French Prime Minister arrived in Algeria on Saturday evening to begin a two-day visit to discuss cooperation between the two countries.