Malian president visits Algeria

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita arrived here Saturday for a two-day working and friendship visit to Algeria at the invitation of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Keita was welcomed at Houari Boumediene International Airport by President of the Council of Nation Abdelkader Bensalah. The Malian leader's visit "is part of the tradition of dialogue and cooperation that links the two countries," the Algerian Presidency said in a release. It will be an opportunity to "assess relations between Algeria and Mali, find ways and means to ensure their expansion and reinforcement and to discuss regional and international issues of common interest," it said Keita said in a press statement he was here to see President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and seek advice from him on several regional and international issues. "I come to see my elder brother, and seek advice from him and, of course, take the news of Algeria, friend and brotherly country to which we are linked by history, geography and anthropology" said the president of Mali.