The meeting also tackled ways to maximise effective communication channels between the two countries at the government and popular levels.

El-Sisi and Lamamra discussed the prospects for bilateral relations between the two countries, presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady said.

They also exchanged views on a number of regional issues of common interest at the Arab level, especially the latest developments in Syria, Libya and Iraq.

In this respect, they also agreed on the importance of intensifying coordination to work on restoring security, stability and regional peace, Rady clarified.

Lamamra handed El-Sisi a written message from Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune, inviting the Egyptian president to participate in the upcoming Arab Summit set to take place in Algeria in November.

Tebboune also stressed in the message his country's keenness to strengthen bilateral cooperation frameworks on various levels, Rady noted.

El-Sisi, for his part, told Lamamra that Egypt looks forward to working with Algeria to ensure the success of the summit in promoting joint Arab action to address the huge challenges facing the nation and restoring its position and unity.

Lamamra is visiting Egypt to participate in the 158th ordinary session of the Arab Foreign Ministers Council set to be held on Tuesday at the Arab League (AL) General Secretariat headquarters in Cairo.

Egypt-Algeria trade ties

Trade between Egypt and Algeria has fluctuated since 2019, when, says economic commentator Karim Al-Omdain, it reached $1.5 billion.

In 2020, on the back of the coronavirus pandemic, it fell to $650 million.

However, Egypt’s non-oil exports to Algeria increased by 14 percent in 2021, with the value of commercial exchanges between the two countries bounced back by 15.4 percent to $1 billion, he added.

In June 2022, Egypt and Algeria inked 12 agreements and MoUs in the fields of industry, investment and exports.

The agreements were signed during the meeting of the eighth round of the joint higher committee in Algiers attended by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and his Algerian counterpart Ayman Ben Abdelrahman.

During the meeting, Madbouly called for finding alternative trade routes with Algeria to facilitate shipping goods between the two countries rather than the land route passing through Libya amid current circumstances there.

He said at the time that the regular maritime trade route between Egypt and Tunisia, which both countries agreed to place under study, could be extended to reach the Algerian ports.