Algeria, France review bilateral ties

BY: Hana Saada

ALGIERS- The Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Amar Belani, met, on Sunday in Algiers, with his French counterpart, Anne-Marie Descôtes, as part of the continuation of political consultations between Algeria and France, said a press release from the ministry.

On this occasion, the two officials reviewed “the bilateral relations and the prospects for strengthening cooperation between the two countries”, according to the same source.

Discussions between the two sides also focused on “a number of regional and international issues of common interest”, the statement concluded.

Recalled at the beginning of February following Amira Bouraoui affair, which caused a new diplomatic spat between Algeria and France, the Algerian ambassador to France, Saïd Moussi, returned to his post in Paris on Wednesday March 29. The return was followed by a meeting between Ambassador Saïd Moussi and the Secretary General of the Quai d’Orsay (the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

“Ambassador Saïd Moussi held talks with Mrs. Anne-Marie Descôtes, Secretary General of the Quai d’Orsay. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the upcoming meetings within the framework of the political agenda agreed between the High Authorities of Algeria and France”, indicated the Embassy of Algeria in France.

While everything was going better between France and Algeria, the illegal exfiltration of Amira Bouraoui from Tunis to Paris once again weakened relations between the two countries. France’s Emmanuel Macron went to Algeria at the end of last summer. He had left North Africa after having jointly signed with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune a declaration to revive relations between the two countries. However, a new episode of tense relations between Algeria and France sparked as French diplomats and security personnel at the French embassy in Tunis secretly and illegally exfiltrated Amira Bouraoui, despite the existence of an Algerian court subpoena against her.

In a phone call, both Presidents discussed the case. “This exchange allowed for the lifting of misunderstandings,” Macron’s office said, adding that the two leaders agreed to strengthen communication channels between services concerned to ensure “that this regrettable type of misunderstanding is not repeated.”

In 2021, Algeria’s then ambassador Antar Daoud was recalled home for three months in another diplomatic spat – that time over irresponsible comments by Macron concerning post-war Algeria.