Pretoria-President Jabob Zuma's visit to Algeria saw the two countries signing an agreement to cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and other memoranda of understanding.
The visit which formed part of the 5th Session of the Bi-National Commission (BNC) between South Africa and Algeria saw the singing of a nuclear co-operation agreement and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA) and Algeria's Sonatrach.
The BNC also saw the signing of an agreement in sport and the initialling of three memoranda of understanding which will be signed at a later stage in labour and social security; water and tourism for the period 2010-2012.
Energy Minister Dipuo Peters and her Algerian counterpart Chakib Khelil said nuclear energy used peacefully is critical to reducing poverty and catapulting Africa to a higher economic level.
"We believe that the peaceful use of nuclear energy among the African countries is critical in contributing to the decimation of energy poverty on our continent and will catapult our two countries on to an even higher economic development," said Peters who was part of the delegation.
South Africa and Algeria will have exchanges in producing medical radioisotopes and in training staff.
During the visit Zuma held private talks with his Algerian counterpart, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, where the two reiterated their commitment to strengthening ties and levels of cooperation between their respective countries.
Talks between Zuma and Bouteflika ended on Wednesday with both countries pledging to establish "peace, stability and economic development" in Africa.
While noting the concerted efforts of African leaders to resolve African conflicts, they nevertheless emphasised the need for the strengthening of the African Union's (AU) existing capacity for conflict prevention, management and resolution.
Their discussions also touched on developments in the Western Sahara, where separatist guerillas backed by Algiers want a referendum on self-determination, with independence as one of the options.
In this regard, they considered this as a decolinisation issue whose resolution should be based on the right of the self-determination for the people of Western Sahara through a referendum.
They issued an "urgent appeal" to the United Nations to put in place a mechanism to protect human rights in the region.
Zuma and Bouteflika recommitted that the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) is going to receive renewed attention. This follows concerns that the AU has not prioritized Nepad.
They also condemned terrorism in all its forms and in all parts of the world and reiterated their support for the AU and UN resolutions which criminalise the payment of ransoms.
Zuma congratulated Algeria for qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and said the soccer event would not only benefit South Africa, but Africa as a whole.
