ARMS TRADE NEWSWIRE For personal, noncommercial use only July 16, 2001 Headlines: Burmese Arms Purchase: Thaksin brushes off MiG buy Opinion: The Explosive C-130 Contract Algeria has requested arms purchases from US: Bouteflika Lithuania Weapons Procurement Plans Presented to US Military Industry US Conditions on Sale of Cobra Helicopters to Turkey Criticized Belgium Tightens Law on Military Arms Trade Lacking agreement at midway point, U.N. arms conference president to revise draft on action plan Potential For Sales Of Patriot PAC-3s --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Agence France Presse - July 14, 2001 Algeria has requested arms purchases from US: Bouteflika Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said here Friday that his country was looking to make purchases of military equipment from the United States, he said. "We are seeking specific equipment which would enable us to maintain peace, security and stability in Algeria. The Americans are studying our request with open minds, but I cannot say more," Bouteflika told journalists at a press conference here. The Algerian leader is on a 48-hour official visit to Washington, his first ever, and met Thursday with US President George W. Bush at the White House. "The friendship between our two countries is stronger than ever," Bouteflika said Friday. He said that trade between the United States and Algeria hit an all-time high of 3.6 billion dollars in 2000, making Algeria the third largest US trading partner in the Arab world. Bouteflika said there had been military cooperation between United States and Algeria in the past, notably during NATO maneuvers. Many Algeria military officers had been trained in the United States, Bouteflika added. "We are particularly happy with the results," he said. He said he appreciated US support "for our actions in favor of democracy and stability in Algeria, regionally and internationally." Civil war broke out in Algeria after the army in 1992 prevented the now outlawed fundamentalist Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) from taking power by calling off the second round of general elections that the FIS had been poised to win. The violence since then is estimated by the authorities to have claimed more than 100,000 mainly civilian lives. Moreover, Bouteflika faces unrest among the ethnic Berber minority and protests over a bloody police crackdown. Petroleum, natural gas and petroleum products make up some 97 percent of Algeria's exports, which in 1999 totaled almost 14 billion dollars a year.