ALGIERS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) has decided to launch the African Free Trade Zone, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the head of the AU Commission, said here Saturday.

"On the 31st summit in January in Addis Ababa, we took some very important decisions, particularly the African Free Trade Zone (AFTZ), which will be on the agenda of the next summit on March 21 in Kigali in Rwanda, in addition to the African passport and air transport in the continent," the visiting AU chief told reporters upon his arrival at Algiers International Airport.

All African heads of state and government have been invited to Kigali to sign AFTZ agreement, he added.

It is the first official visit of Faki Mahamat since he was elected as the chairperson of the African Union Commission.

He will hold talks with senior Algerian officials to exchange views on the current African issues and prospects of developing cooperation between AU and Algeria.