An Algerian Minister visits CERN

The Algerian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Rachid Haraoubia, visited CERN on 14 November. His party included the Rector of the University of Blida and the Director of the Algerian Ecole Nationale Polytechnique. Welcomed by CERN's Director-General, Robert Aymar, and Secretary-General, Maximilien Metzger, he signed the VIP Visitors' Book before going on to visit the ATLAS experiment and the LHC tunnel. He then had the opportunity to meet Algerian scientists working at CERN.

Some fifteen Algerian physicists attached to European and US institutes are participating in the LHC experiments, in particular ATLAS. A formal collaboration agreement between Algeria and CERN is expected to be drawn up in the near future.