The head of the Algerian government agency that promotes inbound investment has called on Japanese firms to return, saying strict safety measures have been enacted since the hostage crisis at the Ain Amenas gas plant in January 2013 that left 10 Japanese dead.
"We have completely cracked down on terrorist organizations and have taken strict safety measures," Abdelkrim Mansouri, general manager of the National Investment Development Agency, said in a recent interview.
Islamist militants killed dozens of foreign nationals, including 10 employees of Yokohama-based engineering firm JGC Corp., during the Ain Amenas siege.
Mansouri said that compared to active investments from Europe and the United States, "it is disappointing that there are hardly any . . . from Japan, which has (excellent) techniques.
"Algeria, the biggest country in Africa with many young people, has an extremely high potential with a will to develop," he added.
Mansouri said he hoped to see Japanese firms investing in solar panel production and solar power generation because Algeria — a producer of oil and gas — seeks to diversify its industrial infrastructure during a five-year plan that began this year.
Under the new plan, Algeria is aiming to expand manufacturing of renewable energy technology while also generating solar and other green energy with an eye toward exporting it to Europe.
With some 3,000 hours of sunlight each year, Mansouri said Algeria has an edge in solar power generation.