The last visit to Algiers by the Saudi crown prince had aroused the hostility of several media, intellectuals and political parties in the country. This year, the event will coincide with preparations for the Arab League summit to be hosted by Algeria in early November 2022.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, is due to begin a regional tour from today Monday that will take him to Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, a Saudi official told AFP on Saturday.
Mohammed bin Salman is due to make his first visit to Turkey on Wednesday since the assassination in Istanbul of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018, a case that had cooled ties between the two rival regional powers.
During this tour, the Saudi prince “will discuss the main regional and international issues” and “several agreements must be signed”, particularly in the field of energy, said this official who requested anonymity.
MBS’ regional tour also comes three weeks ahead of a visit by US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia, which is expected to mark the prince’s international rehabilitation after he was largely isolated following the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, which was reportedly approved. even sponsored by the Saudi Crown Prince according to CIA and UN reports.
According to a Saudi official, Mohammed bin Salman is also expected in Greece, Cyprus, and Algeria “towards the end of July”.
The Crown Prince’s last visit to Algiers dates back to December 2, 2018, as part of a tour that took him to several Arab countries.
His reception by Algerian intellectuals and media had been hostile when the authorities then chaired by Abdelaziz Bouteflika rolled out the red carpet for him. A petition, signed by members of Algerian civil society – nearly a thousand signatories – opposed the visit to Algiers of Mohammed bin Salman.
“Because of the many victims who, like our brothers in Yemen, must feel our solidarity as Algerians worthy of thinking about their vulnerability, the Algerian authorities are challenged for not agreeing to crimes that have not yet been elucidated,” the petition stressed.
Civil society and opposition hostility
Several Algerian media and opposition political parties had also denounced this visit, recalling the fate of journalist Khashoggi a few weeks earlier. The Workers’ Party called it a “bad joke” and a “big provocation”, while the Rassemblement pour la culture et la democratie (RCD) questioned Algiers’ eagerness to roll out the red carpet in MBS while weighing on him presumptions of guilt in the disappearance of Kashoggi.
Close to the Muslim Brotherhood, Abderrazak Mokri, president of the Society for Peace Movement (MSP), also spoke out against the arrival of the Saudi crown prince, citing “the death of children and civilians in Yemen”. “In truth, welcoming the crown prince during this period is not favorable to Algeria’s image or reputation,” he said.
This year, MBS’ visit to Algeria will coincide with preparations for the next Arab League summit to be hosted by Algeria in early November 2022.
After a long diplomatic lethargy caused in large part by the illness of deposed President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algiers wants to leave its mark on this summit which will make it possible to address in particular the thorny question of the return of Syria to the bosom of the Arab League, where this country has been excluded since 2012.
The other subject that Algiers wants to impose is its project initiated last February to concretize a true union of all the Palestinian factions and organizations. Meetings between different Palestinian groups took place from February to April in Algiers, in complete discretion, in order to finalize a unity agreement that would be proclaimed on the occasion of the November summit.
Bin Salman’s visit – preceded by that of the Secretary-General of the League, the Egyptian Ahmed Aboul Gheit, expected this Monday in Algiers, to discuss with the Algerians the preparations for the Arab summit – will allow the two Arab pivotal countries “to deepen discussions” around this meeting, according to observers.
Algiers also wishes to clarify its positions vis-à-vis Morocco, with which diplomatic relations have been severed because of the Western Sahara issue and Rabat’s rapprochement with Israel.
Riyadh indeed remains a strong ally of Morocco and recently reiterated its position of support for the Moroccan option of autonomy for Western Sahara, which is rejected by Algiers and the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front.
Algeria, for its part, is keen to strengthen its relations with Saudi Arabia. In February 2020, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ‘s first visit abroad after his election was devoted to Saudi Arabia.
