ARAB AND WORLD
Wed 15 Mar 2023 9:28 pm - Jerusalem Time
Re-opening the Tunisian-Algerian land border
Tabarka ( Tunisia ) - (AFP) - The Tunisian and Algerian authorities reopened their land borders on Friday after being closed for more than two years due to the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic, and travelers from both sides began to cross at a normal pace, according to AFP journalists at the Tabarka crossing. (North West).
About one million Algerians, most of them tourists, are expected to arrive through nine border crossings between the two countries, according to the authorities.
The decision to reopen the border was announced by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied, during the Algerian Independence Day celebration on July 5th.
The Tunisian authorities consider the "Melloula" border crossing in Tabarka to be the most important, and in 2019 about 25% of all arrivals from Algeria to Tunisia passed through it.
A large banner was placed at the crossing reading, "Long live the Algerian-Tunisian brotherhood."
Customs agents monitor travelers' documents, including documents proving vaccination against COVID-@DIGITS.
In 2019, about three million Algerians visited Tunisia, who came for tourism and treatment, as well as to visit their relatives and families.
In the year 2019, Tunisian tourism recorded a remarkable movement, following a stagnation that lasted for years, and Algerians made up a third of the incoming tourists, numbering nearly nine million. Between 16,000 and 17,000 Algerians pass through Mellouleh every day.
Algerian tourists often go to tourist areas such as Sousse, Hammamet (east) and Kairouan (center).
The land borders between the two countries have been closed since 2020, and only emergency cases were allowed to cross.
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Re-opening the Tunisian-Algerian land border