Physical Address
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The Vice President of the World Bank (WB) in charge of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Osmane Dione, congratulated Algeria for its economic performance which allowed it a better reclassification by the Bank. He described this performance as a “model of success that deserves to be shared with other countries in Africa and the MENA region.” This was indicated on Tuesday in a press release from the Ministry of Finance.
Mr. Dione was speaking during an audience with the Minister of Finance, Laaziz Faid, during which he affirmed that “this meeting was an opportunity to exchange on the visions of the two parties in terms of economic development, in a global context characterized by multifaceted crises.” He underlined “the potential that Algeria has as an important player in the MENA region thanks to its geopolitical stability, its economic dynamics, its human resources and its youth, its geographical position, its regional connectivity, its potential as a logistics hub and its access to European, African and Arab markets,” according to the press release.
Regarding the cooperation relations between Algeria and the World Bank, he expressed his “firm desire to breathe new life into this relationship and to take note of the needs expressed by Mr. Faid in favor of strengthened collaboration, particularly in the areas of knowledge sharing, capacity building, and technical support.”
He also expressed the availability of his institution to broaden and deepen this partnership with Algeria, by taking advantage of its wide range of technical support and advice instruments, while aligning with national priorities.
On another level, Mr. Dione presented an update on the progress of the process initiated by the WB aimed at ensuring its evolution and adaptation to contemporary challenges.
In this sense, he shared with the Minister of Finance his vision and action plan to support the countries of the MENA region in order to face the challenges they face. For his part, Mr. Faid presented the trajectory taken by Algeria for sustainable and inclusive development, guided by realistic objectives included in the Government’s Action Plan and resulting from the 54 presidential commitments. This trajectory, he continued, led Algeria to undertake an ambitious program of structural reforms in key areas, and to review certain fundamental texts of its legal arsenal governing the business environment.
“Our country continues to pay particular attention to strengthening economic governance, the fight against corruption and the moralization of public life, as prerequisites for ensuring the success of any reform and with a view to consolidating the foundations of solid and equitable economic growth,” he said. The minister invited the WB Vice President to focus his institution’s intervention in Algeria on capacity building and knowledge transfer actions for the benefit of Algerian institutional frameworks.
The WB Vice President also met with Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab. The two sides discussed opportunities for cooperation, including the possibility of exchanging expertise and technical support in ongoing and future projects, particularly those related to the development of renewable energy, Algeria’s efforts to reduce emissions, and projects in the energy and mining sector. An opportunity for Arkab to outline the main axes of Algeria’s energy policy and the various development programs for the sector, including hydrocarbons and related infrastructure, electricity, new and renewable energies, the development of hydrogen, the mining sector development strategy and the exploitation of mineral resources, as well as the national desalination program.