Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian left Tehran for Algiers to discuss bilateral ties with senior Algerian officials, and submit a message from the Iranian president to his Alerian counterpart to invite him to an upcoming summit meeting of gas producers.
The Iranian energy minister will meet his Algerian counterpart Youcef Yousfi, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal and President Abdelaziz Bouteflika during his two-day stay in Algeria.
Chitchian will also submit President Hassan Rouhani's letter of invitation to his Algerian counterpart to attend the upcoming summit meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Tehran.
The 13-member GECF, whose members include Russia, Qatar, the UAE and Iran, was set up in 2001 to foster closer cooperation between gas exporting states.
Iran, holder of the world's second-largest proved natural gas reserves, has been hard hit since sanctions were imposed on the country in 2006 and 2010 on top of existing US sanctions.
Iran is now positioning itself for the potential lifting of international sanctions, a move that would revive the Islamic republic's hydrocarbons sector, pave the way for its return as a major oil and gas exporter and provide much-needed stimulus to the domestic economy.
Tehran and Algiers signed a new cooperation pact on implementation of Algeria's water resources projects by Iran in the Arab country.
The pact was signed by Iranian and Algerian officials at the end of the fifth meeting of Water Resources Joint Technical Committee on Friday.
The four-day meeting of Iran-Algeria Joint Technical Committee was attended by the two countries' senior officials in the Algerian capital.
The officials of Algerian companies voiced their pleasure in the high-quality of the water resources equipment produced in Iran, and demanded for importing such equipment.