Hommam Al Nassim 
Algeria and Italy signed a strategic agreement on Saturday to implement a huge project for the production of grains, legumes and food industries in the state of Timimoun, southern Algeria.
This step comes within the framework of the efforts of the Italian Mattei Africa Foundation, and the project is expected to extend from 2024 to 2028.
A statement issued by the Algerian presidency confirmed that the agreement aims to strengthen the historical bilateral relations between the two countries at all levels, including economic cooperation and enhancing Algeria’s self-sufficiency in the agricultural sector.
In a related context, the Director General of the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency announced an agreement between the Algerian side and the Italian company Bonifiki Ferrarisi BF to implement an agricultural project on an area of more than 36 thousand hectares at a cost of more than 420 million dollars.
Within the framework of the energy partnership, Algeria is the main supplier of gas to Italy through the “Transmed” pipeline, which connects the two countries via Tunisia.
These agreements come in the wake of the visit of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, to Algeria last year, during which relations between the two countries were strengthened in several fields, including industrial, and Fiat opened a car assembly plant in Oran with a production capacity of 50,000 cars annually.
For his part, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced the signing of an agreement to study the construction of a new energy transmission line between Algeria and Italy, stressing the two countries’ commitment to strengthening their strategic partnership in the energy field.
French newspaper: Algeria loses its influence in the African Sahel