ALGIERS, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev began an official visit to Algeria on Monday evening at the invitation of his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Ouyahia.
Medvedev was received at the Houari Boumediene International Airport in Algiers by Ouyahia and several members of the government.
According to a statement issued by the Algerian prime minister on Monday, Medvedev's visit aims to deepen and strengthen the bilateral strategic dialogue between Algeria and Russia and their multi-faceted cooperation based on the strategic partnership agreement signed between the two countries in 2001.
The visit comes after the eighth session of the joint committee of cooperation between the two countries in Algeria on Sept. 20.
Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel said on Sunday that the visit of Medvedev to Algeria would open "a new chapter in the distinguished relations linking the two countries."
He underlined the willingness to "widen existing bilateral cooperation in the political and security fields to other fields, especially in agriculture, trade, energy and so on."
