Algeria controls economic situation despite oil revenues drop

The economic crisis hitting Algeria due to the shrink of oil revenues is under control, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said on Sunday.

"Algeria has been able to overcome the economic shock after the drop of oil prices in July 2014, as we have managed to safeguard national stability, and the country is doing well," the prime minister told reporters at the kick-off of the 17th International Tourism Fair of Algiers.

Sellal said Algeria is continuing its "clear" economic policy, stressing that the country is on the right track.

"The drop in oil prices served our nation, as it gave us an opportunity to diversify the economy," he said, adding that some 24,000 new private firms have been established during the last three years, or 70 percent of what have been created during the last decade.

Sellal said the government rejects any interference in its internal affairs, saying "we are bind to continue maintaining our national unity and stability, and our state institutions."

Hydrocarbons account for about 93.5 percent of the North African nation's total exports. It explicitly shows the full dependence of the nation on oil revenues to support national economy.

The Algerian government says it has established a new economic model for the period 2016-2019, which would enable the nation to gradually shift towards industrialization.