ALGIERS, Nov 24: Algeria’s Industry Minister Hamid Temmar called on Japanese companies to invest in the country in a speech on the opening day Monday of an Algerian-Japanese Forum in Algiers.

Temmar said he hoped the two countries’ economic ties would extend beyond the vast hydrocarbon sector. “Outside hydrocarbons, Japanese investment in Algeria is non-existent,” he added.

Japanese investors would benefit from low energy prices and access to neighbouring markets, he said.

Algeria was putting its weight behind a pan-Arab free-trade zone, while pushing for similar trade freedoms with the European Union by 2017 following a joint accord signed two years ago, he added.—AFP