Algerian, French army chiefs discuss military cooperation

ALGIERS, Algeria

Algeria’s army chief Gen. Said Chengriha held talks on Tuesday with his French counterpart Thierry Burkhard to discuss ways of enhancing military and security cooperation, according to the Defense Ministry.

The ministry, however did not provide any further details.

The army chief arrived in France on Monday, for the first such visit by a high-profile military official to the European country in 17 years.

He conveyed a message from Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

Abdelmadjid is scheduled to visit France in May, for his first visit since he came to power in December 2019.

Tebboune's reign has been marked by tensions in Franco-Algerian relations, due in part to the colonial period from 1830 to 1962 and immigration.

Macron visited Algeria last August to ease tensions in relations with Algeria. The visit culminated in a joint statement on a series of agreements related to the French colonial past in Algeria, security, defense, foreign policy, and economic cooperation.

* Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report