MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - Algeria's entire $4.7 billion debt to Russia will be written off after Algeria concludes and implements contracts to buy Russian industrial products and military hardware, an expert involved in the preparation of President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to the country said Saturday.
The expert said contracts worth more than $7 billion will be signed, which is almost two times as much as Algeria's debt to the former U.S.S.R. He added that the agreement reached Friday was a breakthrough, as the debt had been considered hopeless.
The agreement was concluded "to further develop and strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries and develop mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation."
