President Bruce George heads Parliamentary Delegation to Algeria

COPENHAGEN, 22 September 2003 - Following an invitation by the Algerian Parliament, a Delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, consisting of President Bruce George, Vice-President Gert Weisskirchen and Head of the Italian Delegation to the OSCE PA Marcello Pacini, will pay an official visit to Algeria from 26 to 30 September.

The purpose of the visit is to enhance dialogue with and co-operation between Algerian officials and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. This visit of the OSCE PA Delegation is part of President George's effort to establish closer ties with the OSCE Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation in order to further develop the Mediterranean Dimension of the OSCE.

During their stay, the Delegation will hold meetings with, among others, Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, Foreign Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem, and Minister of the Interior Yazid Zerhouni. The Delegation will also hold talks with the Speaker of the Algerian National Council Abdelkader Bensalah, and the Speaker of the Algerian National Assembly Karim Younes. In addition, meetings will take place with representatives of political groups, civil society and regional government.

A press conference to evaluate the visit will be held on Tuesday 30 September at 10:00 at Hotel El-Aurassi, Algiers.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, created by the CSCE Summit in Paris in 1990, is the parliamentary wing of the 55-nation Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The primary task of the 317 member Assembly is to facilitate interparliamentary dialogue, an important aspect of the overall effort to meet the challenges of democracy throughout the OSCE area.