France and Algeria are heading towards a spectacular diplomatic thaw after months of bickering. This will begin with an Algerian-French Business Council scheduled for Monday, February 5 in Paris, between the MEDEF (Mouvement des Entreprises de France) and its Algerian counterpart, the Algerian Economic Renewal Council (CREA). Well, business between the two historic partners is nothing new you might say, even in the midst of a political-diplomatic storm, economic exchanges have increased to a crescendo. But this time the big news is that the high mass of French and Algerian employers aims mainly to prepare the economic aspect of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s trip to France…
The bosses of the two countries, Patrick Martin and Kamel Moula, will prepare for the visit that the French head of state Emmanuel Macron has been waiting for since May 2023. The Algerian-French Business Council will have no shortage of topics: Links between the Algerian and French private sectors with the aim of “ improving the business climate”, “ development of co-investments/cross investments”, “ skills transfer”, “human capital development”, etc.
It is a question of making substantial gains in investment and trade, and that necessarily involves Tebboune’s coming to Paris, which he himself announced in December 2022. This trip was mentioned in the telephone interview between Tebboune and Macron on December 31 and according to TSA, it could be scheduled after the month of Ramadan 2024…
Remember that the last time this subject was raised at a high level was at the end of December 2023, by Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf. He said on Al Jazeera that Algiers expects pledges from Paris on 5 “ heavy ” disputes. If Tebboune’s visit is on the table it is because firm commitments have been obtained.
In the meantime, MEDEF and CREA will not be idle. On February 5, it will be a question of the installation of the structures of the Algerian-French Business Council to establish the road map for 2024. The two structures will also set the major meetings of the Algerian-French Business Council, in particular the 15th edition of the Algeria meetings, from March 5 to 7 in France, still according to the same source.
Remember that these meetings are organized by Business France and that they will be hosted by three French cities, a first: Paris, Lyon, and Marseille. The goal is to show French companies all the facets and opportunities of the Algerian market. The second major meeting of the Algerian-French Business Council will therefore be Tebboune’s trip to Paris, a trip whose date has not yet been set.
But the first lesson that we can draw from this is that the patience of the French head of state ended up paying off. He arrived in Algiers in August 2022 with an imposing delegation, 90 people, and a very busy schedule. In October of the same year, Macron dispatched former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and almost his entire government to Algiers. Since Paris has been waiting for Algiers to return the favor. In the meantime, Tebboune traveled to Russia, China, and elsewhere but royally bypassed France. This is the end of this long quarrel.
