British Minister of State visits Tunisia and Algeria

Minister of State Peter Hain will visit Tunisia and Algeria 11-13 April. In Tunisia he will meet Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi and in Algeria he will meet Prime Minister Ahmed Benitour, an official statement said.

On his departure from the UK on 11 April, Hain said: "This is my first official visit to Tunisia and Algeria. Both countries are important partners for Britain in the Euro- Mediterranean forum, which offers the prospect of a free trade area of 700 million people. Tunisia is again a member of the UN Security Council. We look forward to working together."

Hain added "As chairman of the OAU, Algeria has played an important part in working to resolve Africa's many disputes. I look forward to hearing from Tunisia and Algeria how we can take forward the Euro-Med dialogue and the work begun at the EU-Africa summit in Cairo last week. I also look forward to discussing how to strengthen our bilateral economic relationships".