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The agreement was signed by the director general of the National Social Insurance Fund for Salaried Workers, Nadir Kouadria, and the director of international development at the Italian hospital group San Donato, James Loïc Georges, under the supervision of the minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Faysal Bentaleb, and the minister of Health, Abdelhak Saihi.

Bentaleb said the agreement was part of a "process to improve quality healthcare provided for Algerian patients at home and abroad.

He added that it "contributes to the implementation of president of the Republic's commitments to promote medical care, mainly through new forms of cooperation in the medical care provided to some difficult cases, such as liver transplants and bone marrow transplants in children under three years old."

The minister said that reducing the number of patient transfers abroad was a "positive indicator of health sector's development in Algeria, in terms of public and private facilities, medical equipment, and skillful staff."

The agreement, he added, "will open new horizons for an effective healthcare, by allowing patients to get access to quality medical care in Italian hospitals."

The agreement also aims to "benefit from the experience of the Italian hospital group, especially through the training of Algerian doctors and technology transfer, mainly in paediatric cardiac surgery."

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