Algeria’s foreign minister on Wednesday ended speculation Wednesday that  MTN might try to buy Djezzy, the local  subsidiary of Egyptian telecommunications giant Orascom.

Mourad Medelci said during a visit to this North African nation  by President Jacob Zuma that “concerning Orascom, the  page is turned with SA”.

Algeria made it clear on 3 May that it was prepared to buy Djezzy,  using its pre-emption rights, when it learned Orascom’s parent  company was in talks with MTN over possible sale of all or some of  Orascom’s assets. The Algerian subsidiary is a key part of  the company’s operations.

Medelci said he held cordial talks with SA  counterpart Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, and “I want to reassure you  that my colleague and I discussed this matter in a very positive  and serene climate”.

The Orascom affair has added a dose of tension to relations  between Algeria and Egypt that increased when SA’s MTN  entered the picture, even though nothing was firm.

Algeria’s minister for communications technology, Hamid  Bessalah, complained in early May about the “audacity” of starting  talks with MTN, saying Orascom was required under Algerian  law to notify the country’s regulators.

Medelci said that turning the page on the MTN-Djezzy scenario  ”does not signify that SA companies, and in particular  MTN, won’t have the possibility of working in Algeria.”.

A range of South African business leaders accompanied Zuma to  Algeria. The two countries signed six accords during the visit, including  one concerning peaceful use of nuclear energy — of which no details  were disclosed. Algeria has two experimental reactors, made in  cooperation with Argentina and China. — Sapa-AP