The governments of Iran and Algeria are keen on stronger bilateral ties in the various fields, former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, was quoted as saying Thursday by the Iranian News Agency (IRNA).
Rafsanjani's remarks came during a meeting with Algerian ambassador to Iran, Abdelqader Hajar, said the agency.
Rafsanjani, chairman of the Iranian expediency council, said that Iran and Algeria have the will to forge closer relations.
For his part, Hajar said that the Algerian government is keen on strengthening relations with Iran.
In January, Iran received Hajar after an eight-year break off in relations.
Algiers severed diplomatic relations with Tehran in 1993, accusing Iran of openly supporting Algerian radical Islamist rebels, whom the Algerian authorities blame for the bloodshed in that country since 1992.
But in September 2000, Iran's President Mohammed Khatami and Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika decided to re-establish diplomatic ties after a meeting on the sidelines of the UN Millennium Summit in New York -- Albawaba.com
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