French President Emmanuel Macron received at the Elysee Palace yesterday, Monday, the Chief of Staff of the Algerian Army, Lieutenant General Said Chenegriha, who is on an official visit to France at the invitation of his French counterpart, Thierry Bourcard, according to what the French presidency announced.
For its part, the Algerian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that "the visit falls within the framework of strengthening cooperation between the People's National Army and the French armies, and will enable the two parties to discuss issues of common interest."
The statement also indicated that Chanegriha delivered a written message to the French President from his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
The visit bears a symbolic significance, as it is the first for an Algerian army commander to France in about 17 years, and the last visit of an Algerian chief of staff to France goes back to the late Ahmed Qayed Saleh in May 2006, according to what was reported by the French Press Agency.
Burkar met his Algerian counterpart on August 25 and 26, during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Algeria.
At that time, the two generals discussed the security situation in the Sahel region, and the strengthening of cooperation between the Algerian and French armies, according to official statements at the time.
Macron's visit aimed to "open a new page" in the relations between the two countries, and the visit culminated in a joint declaration on a set of understandings related to the file of memory and the past of French colonialism in Algeria, and cooperation in the field of security, defense, foreign policy and economy.
Chanegriha's visit to France comes before an upcoming visit by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to Paris next May.
On this occasion, Macron hopes to continue working on memory and reconciliation between the two countries.