ROME, July 23 (Reuters) - Italy and Algeria agreed to

work together to fight terrorism and control migration during an

intergovernmental meeting in Rome on Wednesday, documents

showed, while companies signed off on deals on sectors including

energy and telecommunications.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Algerian President

Abdelmadjid Tebboune at the 17th-century Villa Doria Pamphili,

after a trip to Algiers by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in

March.

Algeria is Rome's leading trading partner in Africa, with

trade worth almost 14 billion euros ($16.4 billion) while Rome's

investments there amount to 8.5 billion, Italy said.

According to a document seen by Reuters, a memorandum will

be signed between Italy and Algeria on fighting terrorism and

its financing. The document did not say which threats the

countries were focused on.

The two nations will also agree on a plan to coordinate the

search and rescue operations for migrants who attempt the

dangerous sea crossing from North Africa to Europe. Meloni's

right-wing government was elected in 2022 on a mandate to curb

migrant arrivals.

On the business side, Italian energy group Eni

this month signed a production sharing contract with oil and gas

company Sonatrach worth $1.3 billion to explore and develop

hydrocarbons in Algeria.

A document said the two companies will sign an additional

agreement on the sidelines of the summit to strengthen their

cooperation.

Eni buys gas from Sonatrach under a long-term contract that

has made the north African country one of the key fuel suppliers

for Italy after Rome severed ties with Russia's Gazprom

following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

A separate deal will involve Submarine cable company

Sparkle, a unit of Telecom Italia (TIM), which is set

to be sold to a consortium led by Italy's Treasury later this

year.

Sparkle will sign a preliminary agreement with Algerie

Telecom for a new subsea cable connecting the two countries.

"Algeria is a strategic partner, and we are working hard to

make this partnership ever broader, stronger and more

diversified," Foreign Minister Tajani said during a speech at a

business forum with over 400 companies from the two nations.

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