Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune chaired a council of ministers on Sunday, December 24. The Head of State ordered the Prime Minister, Nadir Larbaoui, to launch an «in-depth study, for the creation of a free trade zone» with Mauritania. The project will help «contribute to the diversification of economic activities and the creation of a dynamic in the region, particularly along the borders between Algeria and Mauritania», reads a press release by the presidency of the republic. This new project was not initially part of the issues to be addressed during the council of ministers, as unveiled by Algerian media ahead of the meeting. This announcement on the creation of a free trade zone with Mauritania comes as the country did not participate to the meeting, organized on Saturday December 23 in Marrakech, and attended by Morocco and Sahel countries.
