christine lagarde to Visit Algeria, opening border with Morocco on the agenda

Algeria -MAP- The opening of the border between Algeria and Morocco to achieve the aspirated economy integration in the North African region will be in the agenda of the visit of director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde to Algeria.

Ms Lagarde was quoted as saying by Tunisian media as saying that she is visiting Algeria during the current year, without however providing an exact time for this visit.

She said she will discuss with Algerian authorities several issues, including the government’s economic program, as well as the opening of the 18 years closed border with Morocco, as to achieve the long aspirated economic integration in the Maghreb region.

The IMF director specified that rapprochement between the two North African nations will boost their economies and permit them bringing their growth rate to more than the current 3 percent per year, noting that trade exchange between Morocco and Algeria is estimated at no more than 900 million US dollars per year.