Algeria, France discuss key bilateral issues ahead of French foreign minister’s visit to Algiers

By Abbas Mimouni and Rania Abu Shamala

ALGIERS, Algeria/ISTANBUL (AA) - Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf held discussions Thursday with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot about key issues on the agenda of bilateral relations as part of preparations for the latter’s upcoming official visit to the Arab country.

The phone call between Attaf and Barrot came “following a phone conversation that took place on March 31 between President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron,” according to a statement from Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ministry said Barrot is scheduled to pay an official visit to Algeria on April 6 at the invitation of his Algerian counterpart.

The statement added that “the two ministers reviewed the key issues that the two presidents instructed them to prioritize in the context of resolving disputes that have recently disrupted the normal course of Algerian-French relations.”

On Monday, France and Algeria expressed their commitment to revive dialogue, according to a joint communique issued following a phone call between the presidents of the two countries.

“The two Heads of State reaffirmed their commitment to reviving the fruitful dialogue established with the Algiers Declaration of August 2022,” the communique said.

Relations between Algeria and France have been increasingly strained since last summer, when Algeria withdrew its ambassador from Paris over France’s support for Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara.

The situation escalated further in November after Algerian authorities arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal at Algiers Airport, accusing him of undermining the country's territorial integrity through his criticism of Algerian authorities.​​​​​​​

Diplomatic tensions between the two countries frequently resurface, largely due to the historical impact of French colonial rule over Algeria.