Eduardo González
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune received the Spanish ambassador to Algiers, Fernando Morán Calvo-Sotelo, this past Sunday “in a farewell visit at the end of his mission in Algeria,” according to Algerian authorities.
At the end of the meeting, as reported by the state news agency APS, Fernando Morán stated that he had discussed with the president “the state of relations between Algeria and Spain” and affirmed that both agreed that, “while they are excellent, there are always ways to further develop them.”
Fernando Morán Calvo-Sotelo, son of former Foreign Minister Fernando Morán, will turn seventy this coming Friday, December 12, the retirement age for civil servants. His extensive diplomatic career, which began in 1981, has been primarily in Africa, where he has served as ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cape Verde, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, among other posts. He has also been deputy ambassador at the Spanish Embassies in Rabat, Tel Aviv, and Bern, and consul general in Nador, Morocco.
Fernando Morán was appointed ambassador to Algeria in September 2018, and during these more than seven years, he witnessed firsthand the very serious diplomatic crisis that erupted in March 2022 between Spain and Algeria following the unexpected decision by Pedro Sánchez’s government to describe the Moroccan proposal for the autonomy of Western Sahara as the “most serious and credible” way to resolve the conflict in the former Spanish territory.
A few days later, in retaliation for that measure, President Tebboune recalled Algeria’s ambassador to Madrid, Said Moussi, for consultations. However, Spain did not respond in kind and decided to retain Fernando Morán in his post.
Furthermore, in June 2022, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced the suspension of the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness, and Cooperation in retaliation for Algeria’s “unjustifiable” support for “the illegal and illegitimate formula of autonomy.” He also announced the freezing of direct debits for “foreign trade operations involving goods and services originating in and destined for Spain.”
As a result, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, appealed to the European Commission and obtained a warning from the European Union to Algeria that suspending trade relations with an EU member state could violate the Association Agreement between Brussels and Algiers. Brussels’ support for Spain only worsened the situation, as the Algerian government accused Spain of seeking the EU’s “regrettable interference” in a strictly “bilateral” matter. Algeria is Spain’s main traditional gas supplier, which is especially important in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The thaw between Spain and Algeria began in September 2023, particularly after Pedro Sánchez’s address to the UN General Assembly, in which he called for a solution to the Western Sahara conflict “within the framework of the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions” and through a “political and mutually acceptable solution” for both parties, without mentioning Morocco’s proposal for autonomy.
Furthermore, Algiers has also welcomed Sánchez’s stance in favor of a Palestinian state following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas. Algeria is one of the strongest supporters of the Palestinians, both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and does not recognize Israel.
Under those circumstances, Spain granted its approval in November 2023 to the new ambassador of Algeria, Abdelfetá Daghmun, who in December presented the Copies of Style of his Letters of Credence at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
