Algeria to reopen border with Tunisia after 2-year closure

By Abdel Razzaq bin Abdullah

ALGIERS, Algeria (AA) - Algeria said Tuesday it will reopen its border with Tunisia later this month after being closed for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"It was decided to open the land border to the movement of vehicles and travelers as of July 15,” President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said in a statement published by the Algerian Presidency.

He said the decision was taken mutually with Tunisian President Kais Saied, who is in Algeria to attend the 60th anniversary celebrations of the country's independence.

The land border has been closed since February 2020 as part of precautionary measures to stem the spread of the virus.

Algeria reopened its border with Tunisia in May to vehicles.

Calls have been growing in Tunisia for weeks to reopen the border with Algeria, a main source of tourism in the North African country.

Nearly 1.5 million Algerian tourists spend summers in Algeria, according to Tunisian estimates.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat