German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met in Algiers with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Saturday, with the fight against international terrorism high on the agenda. Schroeder, speaking in prepared remarks after the meeting, expressed encouragement for the North African country's steps toward economic and social reform. He also praised Algeria for fighting Islamic terrorism "effectively" and said efforts must continue at the root levels of poverty and economic despair, which "breed violence." "It is not enough to fight terrorism only by means of police methods," he told the German-Algerian Economic Forum. "Only if we succeed in opening economic perspectives for people will we immunize them against exploitation by extremist forces." Schroeder said he made clear in talks with the Algerian leadership that Germany will support the country on "the road to a constitutional state, democracy and a market economy." "It is clear that what happens in North Africa and the Middle East has an immediate effect on us all," he said. "Security in the 21st century is indivisible." He expressed interest in expanding relations with gas-rich Algeria in the energy sector, and said a coordinator for German-Algerian economic relations would start work in November in Algiers. Schroeder's visit to Algeria is the first by a German chancellor in 30 years.
