ALGIERS – The secretary of State to the minister of Foreign Affairs, for African Affairs, Bakhta Selma Mansouri, has took part in the high-level meeting of the Presidential Initiative of Infrastructure Champions (PICI), held via video conference under the chairmanships of President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, the ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs said in a statement.
In addition to Algeria, 12 African countries participated in the meeting, namely South Africa, Nigeria, Benin, the Republic of Congo, Egypt, Rwanda, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Namibia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.
Mansouri reiterated Algeria’s commitment, under the leadership of the president of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to support the initiative, which is part of the UNDP efforts to strengthen economic complementarity in Africa, through the development of infrastructure megaprojects.
She also stressed the determination of Algeria to speed up the execution of the Trans-Saharan Highway and the Trans-Saharan Fiber Optic Backbone projects, considered as two strategic pillars for the interconnection of Africa, the stimulation of investments and the strengthening of sustainable development, mainly in the Sahel region, reflecting the leading role of Algeria in support of African integration.
