Sahel: France needs President Bouteflika’s experience

France needs "President Bouteflika’s experience" and Algeria’s viewpoint in major diplomatic issues, and especially for the situation in Sahel, France’s Interior Minister Manuel Valls, said Sunday in Algiers. "Concerning the major diplomatic issues that we have broached, convergence is even more important that France needs the experience of President Bouteflika and Algeria’s viewpoints and its knowledge of the (Sahel) region," Valls said at a press briefing held jointly with his Algerian counterpart, Daho Ould Kablia, at the end of a two-day working visit to Algeria. French-Algerian bilateral relations have "entered a new stage that will benefit the two countries and the two peoples." "Discussions I had with senior Algerian officials have been useful, especially to prepare for President François Hollande’s visit to Algeria early December," he said.