Algeria on Sunday summoned Tunisia’s ambassador in Algiers, just a few days after a Tunisian minister described the country as a communist state. 

Unlike Morocco, which also borders Algeria, Tunisia shares strong economic and security ties with Algeria. The two North African countries have worked closely in the fight against Islamist militants in the region.

“Tunisia’s ambassador has been received today at the ministry of foreign affairs where he has been asked to provide clarifications about remarks made by a Tunisian minister,” the Algerian Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement on state news agency APS. 

Tunisia’s minister for local affairs had made the comment at a conference in Rome on May 4.

OPEC member Algeria still has a mostly state-run economy but has emerged from the one-party socialism that followed its 1962 independence from France. 

Observers downplayed any diplomatic crisis insisting that ties between the two countries remain strong. According to local media, Tunisia’s Ennahda party also condemned the minister’s comments.