ALGIERS, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia and Algeria will boost bilateral cooperation through signing several contracts in various sectors, visiting Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said here on Monday.
Medvedev made the remarks in an interview with the Algerian official news agency APS upon his arrival.
He said that the two countries had given new impetus to their economic partnership, noting that the amount of trade had doubled last year to nearly 4 billion U.S. dollars.
"It is already pretty good, but we need progress (...) I am sure that our countries have common interest in developing our partnership in several areas. We have the means to do that," he concluded.
According to a statement by the Algerian prime minister's office, Medvedev's visit aims at deepening and strengthening bilateral strategic dialogue between Algiers and Moscow, and boosting their multi-faceted cooperation based on the strategic partnership agreement signed in 2001.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters in September that Russia and Algeria would sign eight agreements during the visit of Medvedev.
The prime minister kicked off his two-day trip in Algeria Monday evening at the invitation of his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Ouyahia.
