U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Algiers on February 25 for a working visit, at the invitation of her Algerian counterpart, Mr. Mourad Medelci, with the goal of strengthening the multifaceted bilateral relationship between Algeria and the United States.

“The talks that Mrs. Clinton held during her visit in Algeria have dealt with strengthening the multifaceted bilateral relationship which binds the two countries and with the set of deep reforms being implemented in our country.”

They have also covered “some regional and international issues of mutual interest, such the situation prevailing in certain areas of the Arab world, the revitalization of regional integration in the Maghreb, the security situation in the Sahel and the international fight against terrorism and its connections.”

This first visit to Algeria by Mrs. Clinton, coming on the heels of the visit made in Washington last January by Minister for Foreign Affairs Mourad Medelci, serves to consecrate the remarkable dynamic to bring the two countries closer and to strengthen their bilateral ties, which is reflected in increasingly frequent visits to Algeria by American high officials.

Additionally to a bilateral relationship that has grown much stronger in the economic, military and security areas, ties between the two countries have also expanded to include dialogue and consultation on regional and international issues.

In her meeting with her Algerian counterpart, last January in Washington, Mrs. Clinton had clearly expressed the “great leap” in relations between the two countries, when she declared that such continuous consultations represent “a great tribute to the excellent bilateral relationship” between Algeria and the first global power.

As Algeria gears up to hold parliamentary elections next May, all the while initiating more ambitious political reforms intended to complete erection of the democratic edifice which started over twenty years ago, the United States has hailed this policy and at the same time congratulated the Algerian government for its efforts towards that end.

Calling the reforms “very important,” Mrs. Clinton, who had already spoken on the matter on previous occasions, had then declared that the reforms were “totally in keeping with the objective of implementing greater democratization that the Algerian government has committed itself to.”

As Mrs. Clinton said, the United States “wants to see Algeria building a strong democratic base which reflects the aspirations of the Algerian people.”

At the bilateral level, counterterrorism is one of the pillars of partnership between Algeria and the United States who, on numerous occasions, has expressed its gratitude for the immeasurable efforts deployed by Algeria, whom the American side considers to be an indispensable partner in the fight against the scourge of terrorism, namely in the Sahel region.

For her part, the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Ambassador Susan Rice, paid tribute before the UN Security Council to “the significant efforts” deployed by the Sahel countries to combat organized crime.

According to Mrs. Rice, the Sahel region faces “a particularly insidious form” of international criminality, citing namely terrorism, drug- and arms-trafficking, “which threaten regional stability by exacerbating conflicts and undermining development.”

Algeria’s contribution to the global fight against terrorism has in fact been consecrated through its active participation in the launching, last September in New York, of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF), initiated by the United States and of which Algeria is a charter member.

With regards to counterterrorism, Algeria’s objective is to coordinate a partnership between the countries of the Sahel region and partner countries including the United States which would make it possible to combat terrorism under the best conditions with help from those partners in the areas of training, supply of equipments and exchange of intelligence.