Algiers (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrived at Houari Boumediene International Airport in Algiers on November 18 afternoon (local time), starting a three-day official visit to Algeria at the invitation of Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb.
This is the first visit to Algeria by a Vietnamese PM in 10 years, since 2015. PM Sifi Ghrieb personally greeted and presented flowers to PM Chinh, his spouse, and the Vietnamese delegation at the foot of the aircraft stairs.
PM Sifi Ghrieb chaired the official welcoming ceremony for the Vietnamese leader and his entourage right at Houari Boumediene Airport.
Although geographically distant, Vietnam and Algeria share a long-standing relationship, forged particularly during their struggles for national independence. Over the past 60 years, the traditional friendship between the two countries has been continuously consolidated and expanded across many fields.
Bilateral political and diplomatic ties remain strong, supported by regular exchanges of high-level delegations. Algeria is currently one of Vietnam’s key trading partners in Africa.
In terms of investment cooperation, the most notable example is the joint project between major Vietnamese and Algerian enterprises in oil and gas exploration and production.
Defence and security cooperation is maintained, while collaboration in culture and sports is also actively strengthened. In Algeria, hundreds of Vietnamese martial arts clubs operate across dozens of provinces and cities, with tens of thousands of practitioners. The Vietnamese community in Algeria currently numbers around 2,000 people.
Despite significant potential, particularly as each country can serve as a gateway for the other to expand into regional markets, cooperation between Vietnam and Algeria has yet to be fully tapped. This is due largely to geographical distance, which has hindered trade and investment, especially in sectors where the two countries have complementary strengths, such as energy, oil and gas, agriculture, mining, food processing, and manufacturing industries.
PM Chinh’s visit is expected to help elevate bilateral cooperation to new heights, opening a new era of dynamic and comprehensive partnership. The visit is anticipated to help reinforce political trust, stimulate economic, trade and investment cooperation, and strengthen people-to-people exchanges between the two nations in the new development phase./.
