(AGI) Rome, March 24 - Economic and trade relations betweenItaly and Algeria have been enhanced with the aim of detectingnew investment opportunities. This is the theme of the officialvisit of the Algerian Minister of Industry and Mining,Abdelslam Bouchouareb, heading a large delegation. They willvisit first Milan and later Rome where, on Thursday morning,the Minister will be welcomed by the Italian EconomicDevelopment Minister, Federica Guidi. During their visit, theAlgerians will explain recent reforms designed to attractforeign investments and boost the Algerian industrial sector,in the context of rising domestic demand; Algeria has almost 40million inhabitants, a high birth rate and an average age of27. The visit will also be a chance to evaluate progress sincevisits to Algeria by Minister Guidi (in June 2014), otherItalian dignitaries (during the autumn) and Prime MinisterMatteo Renzi (at the end of the year). The big factor inItaly-Algeria trade has been energy, with Italy as netimporter, but in recent years the gap has closed somewhat: in2014, within a total of 8.1 billion euro, Italian exportsaccounted for 3.8 billion. Many large Italian firms haveoffices in Algeria but the growing demand for 'Made in Italy'products is bringing that market to life for Italian SMEs too.During his visit to Italy, Minister Bouchouareb will delivertalks to institutions and enjoy face-to-face meetings withItalian companies. On Wednesday, he will participate in abusiness forum organised by Assolombarda. (AGI).