Algérie Presse Service (APS) - October 20, 2012

In remarks made at the first meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between Algeria and the United States held at the U.S. State department in Washington, U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said yesterday that the Algerian-American strategic dialogue is "the foundation" on which the United States and Algeria want to build their future relations and insisted on the need for expanding cooperation between the two countries.

As U.S. secretary of State Hillary Clinton had done a few days earlier, Mrs. Sherman also wanted to express her thanks to the Algerian authorities for efficiently reinforcing security measures around the American Embassy in Algiers and for taking measures intended to prevent any acts of violence in the aftermath of an anti-Islam movie on the internet.

Furthermore, the U.S. State Department senior official also insisted on recalling the history of relations between the two countries, mentioning to that effect the Treaty of Amity and Peace signed between the United States and Algeria on September 5, 1795, as well as Algeria's fight for independence, and added that "the United States and Algeria have in common a shared vision of freedom and self-determination."

Discussing cooperation and the new prospects emerging in the relations between the two countries, Mrs. Sherman said that relations between the United States and Algeria "go beyond the traditional area of security cooperation," as they strengthen investments, trade, and cooperation in the cultural and educational sectors.

With regards to security cooperation, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Sherman stressed that ongoing joint efforts deployed to in the face of threats posed by terrorist groups and extremists "will ensure that Algeria and the region remain stable and safe places where citizens can enjoy free exercise of their civil, political and human rights, and where enterprises can feel safe in investing for the long term."

Discussing again the significance of the Strategic Dialogue, Hillary Clinton's aide said that the purpose of this first meeting is not only to discuss shared achievements, however numerous they may be, "but to talk about the objectives and ambitions toward which the United States and Algeria will continue to work, as well as the challenges facing the two countries as they seek to achieve those objectives."