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In an address at the 5th session of the liaison committee of the Trans-Saharan Fibre-Optic Backbone project, in the presence of representatives of the involved African countries, a ministry's official emphasized "Algeria's commitment to making the project a reality," noting "the completion of the works for the rollout of nearly 2,600 km of fibre optic cable linking Algiers to In Guezzam, in addition to the extension of another line to the province of Tindouf."

Over the last couple of years, Algeria has doubled its international bandwidth with the commissioning of an undersea cable, he said, stressing the importance of this Trans-Saharan strategic project which, according to him, "is a model of successful partnership between African countries."

"The project, aimed to create a technological momentum that will encourage the emergence of a digital economy in the concerned countries, will contribute to the development of electronic trade and financial services online and the improvement of business climate in Africa," Bara said.

Speaking on the same occasion, the secretary general of the liaison committee of the Trans-Saharan fibre-optic Backbone project, Mourad El Alia, said the meeting would be an opportunity to "discuss the progress of the project and the constraints encountered."

Algeria, through the project, intends to "make the best use of the submarine cable linking Algiers to Valencia, Spain, to give the Algerians access to the Internet, and then enable non-coastal African countries to take advantage of the same services."

The Trans-Saharan fibre-optic Backbone project, connecting Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Mali and Mauritania, is part of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

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