French interior minister, Daniel Vaillant, will begin on Sunday a two-day visit to Algeria to discuss bilateral issues, reported the Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA).
A French foreign ministry spokesman said that the visit was part of the "political dialogue" between the two nations, which have often had strained relations since Algeria gained independence from France in the early 1960s.
High on the agenda for the talks will be ways to improve the "conditions of residency" for Algerian nationals in the European country, said the official.
There are an estimated 800,000 Algerians living in France, said the agency.
France has eased visa restrictions on Algerians seeking to reside there since 1998.
France, said the official, is also seeking to renegotiate a 1968 agreement that regulates residency terms for Algerians in a way that will be "mutually satisfactory."
Security and the long-awaited opening of air links by French airliner Air France might also be broached during the minister's visit.
Air France suspended flights to Algeria after one of its planes was hijacked in December 1994 -- Albawaba.com
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