ADDS REMARKS FROM BARROT, CHANGES DECK
By Hassen Djebril, Betul Yilmaz and Ilayda Cakirtekin
ALGIERS, Algeria / ISTANBUL (AA) - French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot arrived in Algeria for an official visit on Sunday after months of political tension.
The top French diplomat was welcomed by his Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf, at the Foreign Ministry headquarters for talks, the Algerian state television reported.
“France wishes to turn the page on the current tensions and rebuild an equal, serene, and peaceful partnership with Algeria. It wants to restore cooperation with Algeria in our mutual interest and to find all the ways for cooperation with a focus on efficiency and results for our fellow citizens,” Barrot said in his speech after he met with the Algerian president and the foreign minister.
He announced that the parties have agreed to collaborate across several key areas, including economic cooperation, judicial matters, security, and mobility.
“The conclusion of this visit is a shared desire to lift the curtain and enter a new phase of our relationship, a relationship of equals between France and Algeria, for the mutual benefit of our two countries and peoples,” Barrot added.
On Monday, Algeria and France expressed their commitment to reviving their dialogue following a phone call between Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
The Algerian-French relations 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.