Algeria and Mauritania took a significant step towards bolstering economic cooperation on Thursday with the launch of a free trade zone project near their shared border.

The project, situated in Algeria's westernmost province of Tindouf, was inaugurated during a ceremony attended by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani.

This initiative marks the first time Algeria has undertaken such a project outside its own borders since gaining independence in 1962. It signifies a strategic move to strengthen economic ties with neighboring countries.

The free trade zone is part of a broader Algerian plan to establish similar zones with five neighboring nations: Mali, Niger, Tunisia, and Libya. President Tebboune announced this ambitious plan earlier in February, aiming to stimulate regional economic cooperation.

Beyond the free trade zone, the ceremony also revealed plans to construct fixed border posts between the two countries and develop an 840-kilometer road connecting Tindouf with Zouerate, the capital of Mauritania's northernmost region.

These combined projects signal a growing commitment between Algeria and Mauritania to enhance economic collaboration and facilitate cross-border trade and movement. (ILKHA)