Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal was received in Algiers today by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and yesterday by Algeria's Prime Minister Ali Benflis. Prince Saud, who is on a two-day visit to the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, today signed with Algerian Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Belkhadim an executive program for cooperation between the two countries in various fields, political, economic, commercial, social and cultural. At a press conference afterwards, Prince Saud commented that the Kingdom was doing its best to avert a military strike against Iraq, and called on the Iraqi authorities to cooperate on the return of international inspectors.

On arrival yesterday, Prince Saud stated that he carried with him a cordial message to the Algerian President from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, and commented that his visit to Algeria was an opportunity not only to boost bilateral relations but to consult on a number of Arab issues, including the Middle East situation and the Palestinian cause.

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