Algerian president in the UAE

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Tuesday arrived in Abu Dhabi coming from Amman in the framework of his tour which has so far covered Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

The United Arab Emirates news agency said that President Bouteflika will discuss with UAE President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan al-Nahyan "means of strengthening bilateral relations in all fields, especially in the area of trade."

On the occasion of this visit, the UAE Ministry of the Economy and Trade published a report which showed a great surplus in the trade balance in the interest of the UAE.

The report said that commercial exchange between the two states increased by 135.5% between 1997 and 1998 from 264.5 million UAE dirhams (US $72 million) to 620.3 million dirhams (US $169 million). The report revealed that the value of non-oil exports from the UAE to Algeria increased from 17.5 million dirhams (US $4.7 million) to 53.9 million dirhams (US $14.6 million) for the same period of time.

The report continued that the cost of items prepared for re-exportation increased from 245.5 million dirhams (US $67 million) to 563.7 million dirhams (US $154 million). These exports are mainly textiles, mining materials and various equipment.

The two states established a joint economic and trade committee in April 1998 in order to strengthen their cooperation in various fields.