More than two years after they were shut down owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the land borders between the two countries were reopened on Friday, accompanied by several cars and signs commemorating Tunisian-Algerian friendship.
The majority of the one million Algerian visitors who are expected to enter Tunisia this summer are tourists, according to the authorities.
Nine border crossings between the two countries reopened at midnight on Thursday after being closed for two years due to Covid.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that on July 5, while Algiers was celebrating its independence, President Abdelmajid Tebboune of Algeria informed his colleague Kais Saied of his decision to reopen the borders.
The Melloula border post, near Tabarka where an AFP team was deployed, traditionally sees the most traffic, according to Tunisian national guard official Jamel Zrig.
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In 2019 it saw between 15,000 and 16,000 daily arrivals and accounted for a quarter of incoming traffic from Algeria.
‘Long live Algerian-Tunisian fraternity,’ read a large banner at the border.
Visitors showed vaccination certificates and other Covid-related documents to customs officials in a building adorned with the inscription: ‘Welcome to our Algerian brothers, in their second country, Tunisia.’
Nearly three million Algerians travelled to Tunisia in 2019, equating to one-third of foreign visitors in a year which signaled a recovery in Tunisia’s tourism sector.
Algerians typically travel to Tunisia for tourism, visiting the popular seaside resorts of Annaba and Constantine, visiting family, or undertaking medical treatment.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that relations between the two North African countries have been historically warm since Algerian independence from French colonial rule in 1962.
Following the onset of the Covid pandemic border crossings between the two countries were closed on March 17, 2020, remaining open only for emergencies.