Bouteflika tomorrow in Riyadh, part of an Arab tour

Sources at the Algerian presidency said that the Algerian President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika will start on Friday an official visit to Saudi Arabia in the course of a tour which will also lead him to Qatar and Jordan.

This is, however, the first official visit he held since he assumed Presidency in April 1999..

The sources indicated that Bouteflika will meet with the Saudi King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, the crown prince Abdullah and several high ranking officials.

The sources indicated that the visit of the Algerian President Bouteflika is of special importance due to the series of contacts maintained between the two states.

Well-informed sources expected talks to deal with means of revitalizing bilateral relations and backing the efforts aiming at convening an urgent Arab summit, as well as discussions of the file of the Algerian- Moroccan relations file in light of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates efforts to bring views closer between the two states besides the situation in the Middle East region.

Since he assumed power, the Algerian President received more than 10 Saudi delegates and delegated several of his aides to Saudi Arabia.

In Doha, President Bouteflika will meet with Sheikh Khaleifa Bin Hamad al-Thani who had visited Algeria twice during six months. The first visit was official and the second was following a special tour he made in the Algerian desert.

In Jordan, the Algerian President will meet with King Abdullah Bin al-Hussein who was the first Arab leader to visit Algeria under the rule of Bouteflika.