Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has embarked on a week-long trip to three African nations to strengthen ties and economic cooperation.

The prime minister on Sunday departed for Algeria for a three-day official trip where he is scheduled to meet with his counterpart, Ahmed Ouyahia, to discuss ways to deepen strategic partnerships between the two sides.

He also plans to request the Algerian government's support for Korean firms hoping to take part in its construction and infrastructure projects.

Lee will then visit Tunisia from Tuesday to Thursday to check South Korea's development and cooperation projects in the African country.

From there, he will fly to Morocco on Thursday and meet with Morocco's Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani to ask Morocco to help Korean companies participate in large state projects.

It will be the first time for a South Korean prime minister to make an official trip to Algeria and Tunisia. In 2014, then Prime Minister Chung Hong-won visited Morocco.