Spain and Algeria stage the end of the crisis with the announcement of their first High-Level Meeting in more than eight years

Eduardo González The Governments of Spain and Algeria will hold their first High-Level Meeting (HLM) since April 2018 next October, as announced this Monday in Algiers by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, during the Prime Minister's official visit to the North African country to stage the definitive overcoming of the bilateral diplomatic crisis of 2022. “We are at the starting point of a new stage in all areas of our relationship,” Sánchez stated during an institutional declaration to the media, without taking questions, alongside President Tebboune at the El Mouradia Palace in Algiers. “Spain sees Algeria not only as a neighboring country, but as a strategic partner and, above all, as a friend,” and this visit, “if it symbolizes anything, it is our firm commitment to deepening this friendship and expanding bilateral cooperation for the future,” he stated. To this end, he emphasized, “it is essential to strengthen the political dialogue between Spain and Algeria” because “dialogue is the foundation upon which everything else is built.” “Therefore, I believe it is very important that the eighth High-Level Meeting between our governments will take place this coming autumn,” Sánchez declared. “I have instructed my teams to begin working immediately with their Algerian counterparts to ensure that this High-Level Meeting is a success and beneficial for both our societies,” because the High-Level Meeting “will allow us to deepen our collaboration in many areas, such as security and the fight against irregular migration, but it will also give renewed impetus to many other areas, such as cultural cooperation.” The last High-Level Meeting (HLM) between Spain and Algeria took place on April 3, 2018, in Algeria, with the attendance of the then Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, and his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfonso Dastis. In March 2021, it was announced that the eighth HLM would take place in the second half of that year on Spanish soil, but between the COVID-19 pandemic and the diplomatic crisis of March 2022, it has not been possible to hold it. Energy and economic relations Sánchez also emphasized the importance of “building a beneficial economic partnership for both Algeria and Spain,” because “our country wants to consolidate its position as a strategic partner of Algeria in the modernization process you are promoting and in the development of its energy and industrial sector.” “Therefore, I believe it is very important that the top executives of Spanish energy companies, companies with a significant presence in Algeria and a firm commitment to continue investing and contributing to Algeria’s prosperity, are accompanying me on this trip,” stated Pedro Sánchez, who traveled to the North African country accompanied by representatives of the four main Spanish companies in this sector: Repsol, Naturgy, Moeve, and Enagás. “So far in 2016, Algeria has been our leading supplier of natural gas, at a time of extraordinary uncertainty in international markets,” and for this reason, Spain “especially values Algeria’s position as a strategic and reliable partner,” he continued. “Clearly, this is not just a supply relationship; we also want to collaborate to face together the challenges of the energy transition, technological innovation, and the digitalization of infrastructure,” he added. Furthermore, the president noted that the bilateral economic relationship “goes, of course, far beyond energy” and, therefore, the Spanish government wants to “continue promoting the presence and investment of our companies in Algeria, the activity of Spanish companies in sectors such as industry, agribusiness, food, infrastructure, and services.” “That is why we have had the opportunity to speak beforehand with representatives of Spanish companies established here, to learn firsthand about their current and future projects, to convey our full support, and I am convinced that in this new impetus we are giving to relations between Algeria and Spain, our companies will play a fundamental role, which the Spanish government certainly wants to support and encourage,” he added. Pedro Sánchez and the Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, met with representatives of Spanish companies operating in Algeria. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares met with his Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf. Abdelmadjid Tebboune For his part, Abdelmadjid Tebboune affirmed that relations between the two countries are experiencing “a very positive and growing dynamic,” and highlighted the importance of Sánchez’s visit “for the preparation of the eighth session of the High-Level Meeting between Algeria and Spain, which will take place next October.” The Algerian president also underscored his “satisfaction” with the two countries’ energy partnership and asserted that Algeria aspires to “broader and deeper cooperation in the area of renewable energies, especially given the opportunities and resources that Algeria enjoys, which make it an important partner in the energy transition in the Mediterranean basin and the Euro-Mediterranean region.” During the bilateral meeting, he stated, they also discussed the Middle East, Libya, and Western Sahara, without providing further details. “We have agreed to continue sharing our views and to promote and support the efforts of the United Nations for the peaceful resolution of these crises (…) in accordance with international law, international law and the rights guaranteed by the Charter of the United Nations,” he added. The crisis This is Sánchez's second trip to Algeria as Prime Minister (the previous one took place in November 2020) and his first since the serious bilateral diplomatic crisis that erupted in March 2022, following the Spanish government's unexpected decision to support Morocco's proposed autonomy plan for Western Sahara. That conflict with Algeria led the government of Abdelmadjid Tebboune to recall the former ambassador to Spain for consultations in March 2022 and to suspend the bilateral Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation, as well as trade relations. The thaw in bilateral relations came in 2023, after Sánchez addressed the UN General Assembly, advocating for a solution to the Western Sahara conflict "within the framework of the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions," without mentioning the Moroccan autonomy proposal, and thanks to Spain's support for the Palestinian state.

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