Iran, Italy and Algeria have formed a tripartite partnership to establish a date processing plant in the North African country.

According to a statement released by Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the contract for the construction of the new plant was signed by Reza Ameri, Iran's ambassador to Algeria, and Amara Benyounes, Algerian minister of trade.

According to the contract, the date processing plant will be built in Algeria in cooperation with Italy and Iran will contribute to technical and technological aspects of the project.

The plant will conduct all stages of date processing, including production of sugar from date and production of date seed oil.

In addition to Iran's ambassador to Algiers and the Algerian minister of trade, the signing ceremony was attended by head of the Algerian Chamber of Commerce, head of the chamber of commerce of Algeria’s Biskra Province, and a group of Algerian businesspeople.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony, the Iranian ambassador said the contract followed a recent visit to Iran by head of the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and his accompanying delegation in May 2015.

Explaining about the advantages of investment in Iran, the Iranian diplomat also called on Algerian businesspeople to take into account new investment opportunities made available by the Islamic Republic.

Ameri noted that Iran is a pioneer in food industries, production of agricultural products and machinery, and car manufacturing. He also declared Iran's readiness to exchange economic and trade information with Algeria.

The Algerian minister of trade, for his part, expressed hope that economic cooperation between the two countries will further increase in the near future.

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