German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Algiers was called off on Monday because President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was “temporarily unavailable” due to “acute bronchitis”, his office said.
“Algerian and German authorities have today mutually agreed to postpone the official visit” of Merkel, the presidency said in a statement.
“This postponement is due to the fact that Mr Bouteflika, who is at his residence in Algiers, is temporarily unavailable due to acute bronchitis,” it added.
Merkel had been due to arrive in the capital at 1700 GMT as part of efforts to get North African countries to reduce the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean into Europe.
Bouteflika, 79, suffered a mini-stroke in 2013 that affected his mobility and speech. He has appeared in public since on only a handful of occasions and has travelled several times to France for medical treatment.
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