The Diplomat
The new Ambassador of Algeria to Spain, Abdelfetá Daghmun, has presented the Copies of his Letters of Credence at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the presence of the Ambassadors’ introducer, María Sebastián de Erice.
Abdelfetá Daghmun arrived last Thursday in Madrid and the following day went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, thus putting an end to a period of 19 months in which Algeria has not had an ambassador in Spain, since on 19 March 2022, the government of Abdelmayid Tebune called the previous ambassador for consultations, Said Moussi, a day after Morocco released the letter from Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to King Mohammed VI, in which he argued that Morocco’s 2007 autonomy plan was “the most serious, credible and realistic basis” for resolving the Western Sahara conflict.
The new Algerian diplomatic representative has already been posted to the embassy in Madrid, as ‘number two’, between 2008 and 2011, and is a veteran diplomat, who will have the task of helping to rebuild relations between Madrid and Algiers, after a period of estrangement, which also had its effects in the economic and commercial spheres.
The thaw in bilateral relations began to take place at the end of September, through contacts in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, after Sánchez’s words to the General Assembly advocated seeking a solution to the Sahara conflict ‘within the framework of the United Nations Charter and Security Council resolutions’ and defended a ‘political and mutually acceptable solution’ for both parties, without mentioning the Moroccan proposal for autonomy.
Algiers also seems to have welcomed the fact that, following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, Sanchez emphasised the need to move towards the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with the Israeli state. Algeria is one of the strongest supporters of the Palestinians, both the National Authority and Hamas, and does not recognise Israel.
On 14 November, following Algeria’s request for the new ambassador, Spain gave its approval and the Algerian government proceeded to appoint Abdelfetá Daghmun, who until then had been ambassador to Guinea Conakry.
