Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Algeria on Sunday for a two-day visit to boost cooperation between the two countries.
Several agreements are set to be signed between them before she concludes her trip.
Algerian ambassador to Rome Abdelkrim Touahria said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero: "We want Italy to become a European hub for Algerian gas. A junction for other EU countries."
Algeria's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva announced on its Twitter account that Meloni's talks in Algeria will focus on energy, the mechanical industry, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups, and education.
Political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit addressed important issues like the growing need for Algerian gas to compensate for the share of Russian gas.
Algeria replaced Russia as Italy's number one energy supplier, transporting natural gas by pipeline across the Mediterranean.
Last July, Algeria and Italy concluded a deal to supply an additional nine billion cubic meters of gas by 2023-2024, which Eni said was worth $4 billion.
The sources noted that Meloni addressed irregular migration from the southern Mediterranean to the coasts of Italy and sought Algeria's help to stop this phenomenon. Dozens of Algerians cross the sea every year to the Northern Mediterranean.
Separately, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra received US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Michele Sison.
They addressed bilateral relations and prospects for strengthening strategic dialogue and economic cooperation between Algeria and the United States. They discussed regional and international developments, and multilateral diplomacy.
No further details were provided about Sison’s visit.
The US State Department said on Friday Sison was set to travel to Algeria and Morocco on January 21-26 to discuss shared multilateral priorities across the UN system, including the importance of human rights as Morocco and Algeria join the UN Human Rights Council.
In her meetings, she would underscore US support for MINURSO and United Nations Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General Staffan de Mistura's efforts in leading the UN political process for the Western Sahara.
Algiers and Washington have several agreements covering various areas, including US investments in the oil fields in southern Algeria and security cooperation in combating terrorism in the Maghreb and the African coast.
Algeria had condemned a proposal by 27 members of the US Congress that called for "immediate" action to sanction the Algerian government for its involvement in the purchase of Russian arms.
The demand came in response to Algerian-Russian arrangements to sign an agreement to purchase Russian military equipment worth $11 billion.
