Italy's seventh consular centre in Algeria inaugurated

(ANSA) - ALGERI, 03 OTT - The Ambassador of Italy to Algeria, Alberto Cutillo, visited the city of Tamanrasset, the main economic and urban hub of the Algerian Sahara, to inaugurate, in the presence of the local authorities and a large delegation of Tuareg notables from the region, a new centre for consular services at the Italian diplomatic office in Algiers.
    Realised in collaboration with the multinational Vfs Global, as the Italian diplomatic representation in Algiers has announced, the desk, which will be operational twice a week, will ensure the presence of Italian consular services in one of the most distant regions from the capital (over 1900 kilometres).
    This new Italian consular centre will be mainly dedicated to meeting the demand for services from the Tuareg business community dedicated to tourism and the resident community.
    Moreover, according to estimates provided by the Algerian Ministry of Tourism, Italians are among the top visitors to Algeria and the Assekrem desert region. For this reason, important collaborations have been set up between Italian and Algerian bodies and travel agencies to strengthen the Italian presence in this sector also through joint participation in international fairs for the promotion of fair trade tourism in Algeria.
    Just today in Tamanrasset, the Algerian desert tourist season, which will last until the end of March, was inaugurated in the presence of sector minister Mokhtar Didouche and Italian ambassador Alberto Cutillo.
    Tamanrasset, the capital of the Ahaggar Mountains, will be the centre of the future free trade area with Mali and Niger, as part of a plan by the Algiers government to launch five such areas with Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Tunisia and Libya.