ALGIERS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The mobile network roaming fees between Algeria and Tunisia will be removed, the two sides pledged here on Sunday, APS news agency reported.
This pledge, so far without more details, was announced on the sidelines of the third Joint Technical Committee for Cooperation in Post and ICT, held in Algeria's capital Algiers.
"We have decided to encourage regulatory authorities of both countries ... to ensure their trade is transparent to customers traveling on both sides of the border without having to pay more fees for roaming and without being forced to make any changes on their phones," said Algerian Minister of Post and ICT, Houda-Imane Feraoun, in a press conference she held jointly with the visiting Tunisian counterpart, Maarouf Anwar.
The Tunisian minister said that there is "a common will" to lift roaming charges by establishing what is called the One Network Area to "allow citizens on both sides of the border to feel at home."
The two countries had already pledged to lift roaming fees, as the former Algerian Minister of Post and ICT, Zohra Derdouri, promised that such charges will be reduced.
Every year, some 2.5 million Algerians visit Tunisia, especially in summer, while some 500,000 Tunisians enter Algeria.
