Algeria: Venezuela's Maduro meets with Tebboune as part of his international tour
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro met with his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday to boost economic cooperation between the two countries.
During a televised joint press conference, Tebboune said, "We have agreed to reinforce economic cooperation between our countries".
Tebboune also announced that direct flights between Algiers and Caracas would soon be available.
Maduro said he was "very happy about this decision" and went on to say that both governments wished to work together more closely, particularly on oil and gas.
Venezuela has been under US sanctions since 2017 and a blockade of its oil exports since 2019, adding to a severe economic crisis that saw hyperinflation and the flight of six million Venezuelans from the country.
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The US has recently hinted that it will allow some oil sales by Venezuela, which until recently was one of the world's biggest oil producers before production plummeted to a fraction of levels before the crisis.
Venezuela was a founder member of OPEC in 1960 and Algeria joined the energy cartel in 1969.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Maduro visited Turkey, where he spoke to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and sought to attract more investors with talk of Venezuela's rich oil, gas, and gold reserves.
Maduro tweeted, "I am delighted to start this international tour in the lands of the sister Turkish nation.
"I appreciate the warm welcome and affection they have shown us. I am sure that we will consolidate the ties of union and cooperation between our peoples."
A statement released by the Turkish presidency said that "all aspects of Turkey-Venezuela relations will be reviewed and steps to enhance the relations will be discussed".
Maduro's visit to Algeria and Turkey comes at the same time as some two dozen leaders have descended on Los Angeles, California, for US President Joe Biden's Summit of the Americas, to which the leftist Venezuelan leader was not invited. The leaders of Nicaragua and Cuba were also excluded.
Mexico's president skipped the event in protest at the exclusion of these three countries.
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