No visit by US Secretary of State is scheduled to Algeria
US ambassador to Algiers David Pearce said the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has not scheduled any visit to Algeria so far and the embassy does not have any date.
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The ambassador talked to Echorouk in an interview about common investment projects between Algeria and the US.
Will the US Secretary of State pay a visit to Algeria following that of the Algerian foreign minister Mourad Medelci to the US?
At present, there is no scheduled visit and we do not have any date about a similar visit to Algeria.
It is clear that General Electric’s investment in the town of Boufarik (west of Algiers) is one the most important projects in Algeria. It needs a long term commitment, technology transfer and the development of Algerian competences. I have just finished my visit to its maintenance centre. I liked the technology level and training of the Algerian engineers and workers I talked to.
I have recently made a tour in the US. I visited New York, Seattle and San Francisco. I talked to tens of businessmen and representatives of US companies. I also visited Boeing’s factory where an aircraft of Air Algerie is assembled. It will be delivered soon.
On this visit, I explained investment and trade exchange opportunities in Algeria. My visit was at the same time with that of the Algerian water resources minister Abdelmalek Sellal to the US. I learnt that his intention was to encourage more contact and trade exchanges.
The US and Algerian governments try to promote commercial relations more diversified. As far as I am concerned, US President Barack Obama wants to develop our foreign trade. I think that we need to find new markets in all over the world to achieve that. Algeria is one of them.
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Is there any future US investment in Algeria?
I prefer to not overstate promises. Though, I think that we are in a positive way. Commercial delegations have recently paid many visits to Algeria. I think that many companies are interested in investing in Algeria.
Why were US investments late to come in Algeria though you admitted that security situation was improving?
Let’s me tell you what I told US businessmen. I told them “it is true that Algeria experienced a difficult period but it is important to understand that it is not as it was 15 years ago. The situation changed. I made that clear to them because of the Americans do not know a lot about Algeria. I told tem Algeria is an important country. It is the second largest country in Africa in terms of area and the second most populated country in the Arab World. I also told them the Algerian government makes a lot of efforts for development and it is important to Americans to come and visit Algeria to know that.
What is your reading of the Finance Law and its relation with the US investments in Algeria?
Every government is responsible for taking necessary measures to protect its citizens. We understand that. At the same time, every company is also responsible for protecting the interests and the money of its investors. Because of that, they need to well study risks and profits in all their projects. Those decisions are made case by case. At present, there are many US investments in Algeria.
Algeria competes with other countries to attract investment and commerce. If a company has money to invest, it can do that in any country. It is not a matter of spending money but it is a question of encouraging investment conditions.
I asked US companies to transmit all the questions to the embassy in Algiers or the US department of Commerce to discover new markets in Algeria. A Maghrebin conference due to be held on September 1st and 2nd in Algiers will be an opportunity to encourage communication between Algerian and American businessmen.