Algerian President arrives in Niger

Algerian President Liamine Zeroual arrived in Niamey on Wednesday for a two-day official visit, his first to Niger.

Niamey radio said that Nigerian President Ibrahim Bari received President Zeroual at the airport and held with him preliminary talks at the airport's hall. Official sources said the two presidents will discuss relations between the two countries who share 900 km of borders.

Talks will center on constructing a road across the desert linking the southern part of Algeria to northern Niger and providing Niger with gas as well as military cooperation. At the conclusion of the meeting of the Algerian - Nigerian joint committee held at the end of May, Algeria decided to increase its aid to Niger in the fields of health, agriculture, water and training of administrative teams.

Since June 5, an exposition and a market for Algerian handicrafts have been on display in Niamey. On June 2, President Bari issued a decree on cooperation between the two countries' armies in the fields of training and technical aid, based on an agreement signed by the two governments in December 1996.

However, Algeria is considered one of the three mediators, together with France and Burkina Faso, in settling the disputes between Niger authorities and al-Tawareq tribes and the signing of a peace treaty on April 24, 1995.