Cherif Rahmani: Final accord with Total and Renault is still pending

The minister of small and medium sized companies Cherif Rahmani has yesterday announced that several positive results were achieved concerning economic dossiers in discussion between the French and Algerian authorities, including the car making industry and cement one as well as the creation of petrochemical complex for Ethan cracking and medical industry.

• The minister refused to disclose the outcome of the negotiations between the two parties preferring to let this privilege to the two presidents Abdelazi Bouteflika and François Hollande who is due to visit Algeria on December 19 and 20.
• Taking the floor before journalists in the company of the former French Premier Jean Pierre Raffarin who is in charge for the economic dossier, Rahmani has indicated that a roadmap has been drawn up that fixes precisely the sectors of cooperation between the two countries.
• The minister mentioned car industry, petrochemical, pharmacy, agro-industry, technology transfer and human resources, noting that dossiers of Renault and Total are still pending.
• Cherif Rahmani has indicated that the two parties have decided to brush aside all the hurdles that stood as an impediment in the previous negotiations, noting that the last negotiations took place directly between relevant sectors naming Sonatrach with Total, Lafarge with the Algerian cement group, Saidal with Sanofis and Renault with the Algerian company for industrial cars.
• For his part the French former PM Jean Pierre Raffarin has called on the French operators to invest in Algeria in line with the law 51/49 imposed by the Algerian authorities as a preventive measure, noting that the French companies are ready to invest in various sectors of activity including maritime and air transport .