Russian firms set to take part in privatization programs in Algeria

MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russian companies will participate in privatization programs in Algeria, Russian Regional Development Minister Vladimir Yakovlev said Saturday. He is co-chairman of a mixed intergovernmental Russian-Algerian commission. The final protocol of the commission's first session was signed in Moscow on Saturday. Yakovlev said Russian companies have been making proposals for interaction with the Algerian side "in the form of specific projects, some of which are already being implemented." He cited oil, natural gas, irrigation, transport, space research, and agriculture as priority areas for cooperation. The commission's Algerian co-chairman, Mourad Medelci, said that Russia has for years been making a major contribution to Algeria's economy, specifically to industry. The conditions for trade and economic cooperation between the two countries are "favorable like never before," he said.