French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne leads delegation to Algeria

Issued on: 09/10/2022 – 22:30

Her two-day trip along with more than a dozen ministers comes just six weeks after President Emmanuel Macron concluded a three-day visit that sought to end months of tensions with Algiers.

Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane welcomed the delegation at the capital’s main airport, and the pair later presided over a high-level meeting mainly addressing economic cooperation.

French and Algerian ministers present signed around a dozen texts including “declarations of intent” on employment, industrial cooperation and tourism.

Earlier in the day, Borne had laid a wreath at a monument to martyrs of Algeria’s eight-year war for independence, and visited a cemetery for French nationals who lived in Algeria during France’s 132-year rule, which ended in 1962.

Ties between the North African country and its former colonial ruler had seen months of tensions after Macron last year questioned Algeria’s existence as a nation before the French occupation, accusing the government of fomenting “hatred towards France”.

But during his visit in August, Macron and his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune drew a line under the spat.

On Sunday, the two spoke on the phone and confirmed their “satisfaction with the positive direction” of ties, Tebboune’s office said.

Borne is set to meet with the president on Monday.

In an interview with news website Tout Sur l’Algerie (TSA), she said the visit would focus on “education, culture, the ecological transition and the economy”.

“More cooperation will be a source of growth for our two countries,” Borne said.

But deliveries of natural gas to France are “not on the table”, according to her office.

Gas supplies to Europe

The contentious subject of the two countries’ history, particularly during the war, will not feature prominently on her agenda.

During Macron’s visit, the president had announced the creation of a joint commission of historians to examine the colonial period, including the war. France says the panel is still being set up.

Macron has ruled out a state apology for acts committed during the colonial period.

Borne and her cohort are the latest in a string of top European officials to visit Algeria, Africa’s top natural gas exporter, in search of alternatives to Russian energy supplies since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Algeria’s Sonatrach signed a $4-billion oil and gas production deal with Italian, French and US majors in July, but experts have cast doubt over Algeria’s ability to ramp up capacity in the short term.

In her interview with TSA, Borne noted that France does not depend heavily on natural gas.

But she said Paris wants to develop joint projects in the sector with Algeria “to increase the efficiency of its gas production capacity, which will increase its export capacity to Europe”.

The European Union’s energy commissioner Kadri Simson is also expected in Algiers on Monday and Tuesday.

(AFP)