U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks with Tunisia's Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem at the Presidential Palace in Carthage, February 25, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Algeria on Saturday for a visit of several hours to discuss political reforms in the country and the Arab world and counter-terrorism.
Clinton's plane landed at the capital Algiers' Houari Boumediene International Airport around 3:10 pm (1410 GMT) from Tunis, where she had attended an international conference on Syria.
Algeria holds legislative elections on 10 May. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said Thursday that the polls' success would depend on high turnout, saying participation levels "should be the concern of everyone".
Clinton "will have the opportunity to talk to the Algerian government about the steps they can take now to encourage wider participation in those elections, to encourage these elections to be reflective of the Algerian popular sentiment", said a senior US official aboard her plane, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The performance of Islamist parties and of voter turnout will be key issues, according to press reports. In the last parliamentary elections of 2007, the voter turnout was under 36 per cent.
Algeria's foreign ministry said Clinton would also seek to discuss the situation "in some parts of the Arab world, the revival of regional integration in the Maghreb, the security situation in the Sahel and the international fight against terrorism and its connections".
When Algeria's Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci visited Washington last May, Clinton said "the United States was very grateful for the excellent cooperation of Algeria in the fight against terrorism".
The last visit by a US secretary of state to Algiers was by Condoleezza Rice in 2008.
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