Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation visits Algeria

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya, made her first official trip to Algiers, where she held a working meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sabri Boukadoum, and was subsequently received by the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune. At the working meeting, the two ministers praised the state of cooperation in the fields of security, migration and energy, undertook to step up political dialogue and translate this strategic partnership into concrete facts, and to offer continuity to this work at the upcoming 8th High-Level Meeting to be held in Madrid this year. “We highly value the internal stability in Algeria and the important role it plays at a regional level” stressed Arancha González Laya, adding that “Spain considers Algeria to be a neighbouring country and a key strategic partner with which we have enjoyed a rich and ambitious partnership for a long time now”. The ministers addressed the issue of maritime waters, underlying the full agreement between the two countries on the fact that any limits in the event of an overlap should be resolved by common agreement based on negotiations within the framework of the Law of the Sea Convention that rules out unilateral action. They also addressed other issues of bilateral interest such as economic and trade relations between the two countries. In this regard, the minsters agreed that there is room to strengthen economic and trade relations. Within the framework of her trip, the minister also held a meeting with Spanish companies, which reiterated their commitment to continuing to contribute to the diversification of the Algerian economy. During the meeting, they addressed issues on the international and regional agenda of mutual interest, particularly Euro-Mediterranean relations and the situation in Libya and the Sahel. During the course of her trip, Minister González Laya also visited the facilities of the Cervantes Institute and the Spanish Consulate-General in Algiers.