The Chief-of-Staff of the Algerian People’s National Army, General Saïd Chanegriha (photo), started Monday an official state visit to France, on the invitation of the French Chief of Defense Staff, the Army General Thierry Burkhard, the Algerian Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.

Upon his arrival at Paris-Le Bourget Airport, the Algerian Chief-of-Staff was welcomed by General Eric Peletier, in charge of international military relations at the French Armed Forces Command, as well as the Algerian Ambassador to France.

The Algerian Chief-of-Staff was later received by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, to whom he delivered a message from the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces, Minister of National Defense, the statement added.

Mr. Sébastien Lecornu, French Minister of the Armed Forces and General Thierry Burkhard, Chief-of-Staff of the French Armed Forces, were present at this meeting alongside the Algerian delegation.

The two parties discussed Algerian-French military cooperation and the means to strengthen it,” the same source added.

It is worth noting that no Algerian Chief-of-Staff has visited France on an official visit in the last 17 years.

In another sad development, General Said Chanegriha, extended on Monday his condolences to the families of the three Chouhada (Martyrs) killed in the crash of a helicopter near the locality of El Attaf in the province of Ain Defla, said a statement from the Ministry of National Defense.

“During a planned training flight mission, an MI-171 helicopter crashed today afternoon, Monday 23 January 2023, near the locality of El Attaf in the province of Aïn Defla in the 1st Military Region, killing Colonel Mourad Menari, Commander Moussa Mohamed Dahmani and Sergeant Oussama Cheboua,” the statement added.

“In this painful ordeal, General Said Chanegriha, Chief-of-Staff of the National People’s Army, extends on his behalf and on behalf of all the personnel of the National People’s Army, his sincere condolences and deep compassion to the families and relatives of the Chouhada (Martyrs), praying to Allah the Almighty to lend them strength and courage and to grant the Chouhada His Great Mercy.

The General of the Army also “ordered the opening of an investigation to determine the causes and circumstances of this accident,” the same source added.