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21:19 GMT
WASHINGTON, May 14 (KUNA) -- The United States and oil-rich Algeria on
Monday voiced interest in expanding areas of energy cooperation at a meeting
that brought together top government and private sector officials in the
nations capital.
The US-Algeria Business Council convened the 2007 energy forum seeking
broader trade partnership between the US and the mainly-French speaking
Algeria.
Over 100 representatives of US companies met in this forum to discuss more
investment opportunities in Algeria, with the presence of Algerian Minister of
Energy and Mines Chakib Khelil and officials from the State Department, Energy
Department, and the Department of Commerce.
Khelil told KUNA on the sidelines of the forum that this meeting is "a
positive exchange of ideas" about energy consumption and how best to develop
renewable energy, mainly solar.
He added that US-Algerian trade relations have been steady since the 1970s,
and the recent bilateral trade boost simply reflects US needs for energy.
Khelil said in his speech to the forum that "Algeria will not miss the
opportunity to take share of US market", noting that there is a good prospect
for energy export to the United States and that Algeria "will be part of the
solution" to US gas shortage.
Algeria remains both the worlds fourth largest gas exporter and the 18th
supplier of oil.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Gordon Gray
told KUNA that Algeria is a strategic partner for the United States, and now
it is ranked as the second trading partner in the Middle East after Saudi
Arabia.
Gray said that the United States recently replaced France as the leading
trade partner with Algiers, adding that there is no significant trade barrier
for US companies investing in Algeria.
The trade partnership between the United States and Algeria reached USD 15
billion in 2006.
In his speech for the council, Gray affirmed the strong bilateral relations
between the United States and Algeria, saying that the two countries have
"shared interests" in combating terrorism.
Gray said that the United States "has concerns about the security
conditions in Algeria" but added that his administration would continue to
cooperate with the Algeria government in that regard.
"We have great confidence that Algeria will defeat the terrorist threat",
he added.
Addressing the US firms present in the forum, Gray assured that "the safety
of US employees is on top of priority lists" of his administration.
Gray, describing Algeria as "a land of economic opportunities", praised the
"ongoing liberalization of telecommunications", the modernization of the
financial sector and the educational reforms, which includes the introduction
of English language to schools curriculum.
Current US projects in Algeria includes increasing natural gas exports to
the United States, upgrading the electricity grid, developing solar power
stations, and creating new US-Algeria joint ventures exploration and drilling
field.
Gray also backed up the Algerian effort to join the World Trade
Organization (WTO). (end)
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