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Riyadh, Algiers to Enhance Economic Cooperation, Increase Trade

Saudi Arabia's -Qasabi meets the Algerian Minister of Trade and Export Promotion (SPA)
Saudi Arabia's -Qasabi meets the Algerian Minister of Trade and Export Promotion (SPA)
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Riyadh, Algiers to Enhance Economic Cooperation, Increase Trade

Saudi Arabia's -Qasabi meets the Algerian Minister of Trade and Export Promotion (SPA)
Saudi Arabia's -Qasabi meets the Algerian Minister of Trade and Export Promotion (SPA)

Algerian Minister of Trade and Export Promotion Tayeb Zitouni said that his country and Saudi Arabia were seeking to accelerate mechanisms to enhance bilateral economic cooperation.

Zitouni - who is currently on an official visit to Riyadh at the invitation of his Saudi counterpart Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi - told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi-Algerian relations were now at their best on various levels, but suffered in the past due to lack of commercial and investment activity.

“The political leadership, under the direct guidance of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, asked us to discuss the challenges and obstacles facing the launch of trade and investment between the two countries,” the Algerian minister said, adding that Algeria was witnessing a new renaissance that stimulates investments and development projects.

“We agreed to increase trade and investment in vital projects in the two countries, in addition to the adoption of many financing and legal measures,” he added.

Zitouni highlighted the signing of bilateral agreements between Saudi and Algerian businessmen, which he said herald a new era in the field of cooperation, investment and trade in the two countries.

Al-Qasabi met with Zitouni on Thursday at the headquarters of the General Authority for Foreign Trade, and stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral trade and investment relations and building partnerships with the private sector in, in addition to building strategic relations that serve the interests of the two countries.

The Saudi minister underlined the Kingdom’s keenness to enhance trade relations with Algeria through exchanging visits and holding commercial exhibitions that contribute to introducing opportunities and increasing Saudi exports.

He also pointed to the importance of facilitating the access of goods and services of to the two countries’ markets, by reducing customs restrictions that obstruct bilateral trade movement.

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IMF Approves Third Review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 Bln Bailout

Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
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IMF Approves Third Review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 Bln Bailout

Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the third review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 billion bailout on Saturday but warned that the economy remains vulnerable.
In a statement, the global lender said it would release about $333 million, bringing total funding to around $1.3 billion, to the crisis-hit South Asian nation. It said signs of an economic recovery were emerging, Reuters reported.
In a note of caution, it said "the critical next steps are to complete the commercial debt restructuring, finalize bilateral agreements with official creditors along the lines of the accord with the Official Creditor Committee and implement the terms of the other agreements. This will help restore Sri Lanka's debt sustainability."
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022 with a severe dollar shortage sending inflation soaring to 70%, its currency to record lows and its economy contracting by 7.3% during the worst of the fallout and by 2.3% last year.
"Maintaining macroeconomic stability and restoring debt sustainability are key to securing Sri Lanka's prosperity and require persevering with responsible fiscal policy," the IMF said.
The IMF bailout secured in March last year helped stabilize economic conditions. The rupee has risen 11.3% in recent months and inflation disappeared, with prices falling 0.8% last month.
The island nation's economy is expected to grow 4.4% this year, the first increase in three years, according to the World Bank.
However, Sri Lanka still needs to complete a $12.5 billion debt restructuring with bondholders, which President Anura Kumara Dissanayake aims to finalize in December.
Sri Lanka will enter into individual agreements with bilateral creditors including Japan, China and India needed to complete a $10 billion debt restructuring, Dissanayake said.
He won the presidency in September, and his leftist coalition won a record 159 seats in the 225-member parliament in a general election last week.