The visit to Algeria today, Monday, February 12, 2024, of the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, was postponed at the last minute, media announced in Spanish, without citing reasons, other than an “agenda” problem on the Algerian side.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation announced on February 8 that José Manuel Albares was to travel to Algeria on Monday, February 12, 2024, for a lightning visit.
A trip that was to completely “normalize” diplomatic relations and commercial exchanges between the two countries.
However, on Sunday, February 11, in the early evening, just a few hours before the trip, Spanish media, including “El Confidencial” and “El Pais” announced that this visit had been postponed “at the last minute”, and this , for an “agenda” problem on the Algerian side.
“El Confidencial” indicates that Albares decided to give up his trip after learning that the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, “was not going to receive him”.
It should be remembered that Algeria recalled its ambassador to Spain on March 19, 2022, following the “sudden reversal”, as indicated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of the Spanish position concerning the Western Sahara issue.
Indeed, the day before, the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez, had sent a letter to the King of Morocco in which he expressed, for the first time, Spain’s support for the “Moroccan autonomy plan”.
Less than three months later, on June 8, 2022, to be precise, Algeria “immediately” suspended the “Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborhood and Cooperation” signed on October 8, 2002, with Spain.
The next day, June 9, 2022, bank direct debits for foreign trade operations of products and services, to and from Spain, were frozen. Only gas deliveries are maintained.
It was not until November 2023, that is to say almost twenty months later, that Algeria appointed a new ambassador to Spain.
According to information, meetings between Algerian and Spanish officials took place in New York, on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly which was held in September 2023.
Moreover, during his intervention on site, the head of the Spanish government, Pédro Sanchez, did not mention the “Moroccan autonomy plan”, contenting himself with talking about a solution within the framework of UN resolutions.
In the same order, since the start of the year, imports of certain products from Spain, such as fresh meat or poultry inputs, have been authorized.
So, until then, things were moving, even slowly, towards a “return to normal” in trade.
