国际英语新闻:Algeria, France ink 10 agreements to boost cooperation

ALGIERS, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Algeria and France on Thursday signed here 10 cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding in different domains, as part of the visit of French Prime Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, to the North African nation.

The signing ceremony was attended by Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal and his French counterpart, Cazeneuve.

They held talks in Algiers before signing the agreements, stressing on the necessity to overcome the conflicting issues hindering the development of economic cooperation and partnership between the two nations.

Bilateral cooperation under the national policy aiming at diversifying the oil-dependent economy has been given a new impetus," Sellal added, admitting that "bilateral cooperation witnessed a little reluctance in recent years."

Cazeneuve said that his visit to Algeria "has been an opportunity to assess an exceptional era in our bilateral relations highlighted by the numerous ministerial visits between the two countries since 2012."

He further noted that he discussed with Sellal major regional issues, including the crisis in Libya, the developments in Mali, as well as appropriate means to counter terrorism in the region."

Despite growing economic partnership, Algiers and Paris are still unable to overcome their "painful" past, therefore lagging behind in terms of normalizing bilateral ties.

Algerians are whipping France of not admitting crimes in Algeria during the 130 years long colonial era in this North African nation.