Finally, Bouteflika in cabinet meeting

Finally and before the constitutional deadline for the Finance Draft Law 2014 expires, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika Sunday held its first cabinet meeting after 5 months of absence due to health problems.

The meeting which has lasted for about two hours and a half passed 7 draft laws. President Bouteflika started it by taking an official picture of the new cabinet he had appointed on September 11th.
In previous meetings, the president used to enter the conference room while his ministers waited for him. In this meeting, the ministers entered the room and found him sitting and left it before him.
According to sources, Bouteflika opened the meeting with short sentences and a low voice before asking the Government’s Secretary General to present the agenda. The Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal made a presentation about the economic and social situation.
The president thanked all the States executives for managing the country’s affairs during his absence.
He said he followed all the events while he was in Paris for medical treatment.
His doctors advised him to not make a lot of efforts and to not stand up. The same sources say the president talked about international affairs and warned the government of security situation in neighboring countries. He also asked the government to start preparing for the presidential elections due to be held in 2014 and mobilize all the technical means for a successful event.
The precedent meeting was held, 10 months ago. The short duration of the meeting shows that not all the draft laws mentioned in the agenda were discussed. They were formally passed as they were discussed in previous meetings.