France is relaunching its bilateral cooperation with Algeria after a year of uncertainty, marked by the "Hirak" protest movement and the election of a new president.
Jean-Yves Le Drian, head of French diplomacy, went to Algiers on Tuesday January 21 to meet the country's new leaders: his counterpart Sabri Boukadoum, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. In one year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the first member of the French government to visit Algeria, now seen as a key partner of Paris in the regional crises in Libya and the Sahel.
Libya and the Sahel at the heart of concerns
A new government was installed in Algiers following the presidential election of December 12 - massively rejected by the "Hirak" - which led Abdelmadjid Tebboune to the head of the State. Paris, whose relations are naturally complex with its former colony, took note: "The presidential elections have taken place. There is now a new government with which France wants to work," said Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Jean-Yves Le Drian's trip to Algiers was also part of international efforts to resolve the regional crises in Libya and the Sahel.
It comes two days after an international summit in Berlin where the main countries affected by the conflict in Libya have promised to respect an arms embargo and no longer interfere in its internal affairs, in an attempt to bring peace to this torn country by the civil war.
"A power of balance and peace"
President Tebboune, invited to Berlin, has now offered to host a "dialogue" between all the Libyan parties.
"We were together in Berlin the day before yesterday on the Libyan conflict and we will coordinate our efforts, even beyond the establishment of a lasting cease-fire, to recreate political dialogue, and we will act together so that the efforts that we initiated in Berlin can continue, "assured Jean-Yves Le Drian after his meeting with his Algerian counterpart.
"We will also take stock of the situation in the Sahel and recall our common objectives of security and the fight against terrorism. Faced with these major challenges, France and Algeria have a convergence of views, and our cooperation is essential" , he said.
Algiers, worried about the risks of instability on its southern flank, served as mediator in 2014-2015 between the government of Bamako and armed rebel groups in northern Mali.
"Algeria is a power of balance and peace, firmly attached to the respect of the sovereignty of the States and to political dialogue. It recalled it recently by launching several diplomatic initiatives", welcomed the head of diplomacy French.
Anxious to remain at an equal distance from the two warring camps in Libya and hostile to any foreign interference, Algeria, which shares nearly 1,000 kilometers of border with Libya, is increasing consultations to try to contribute to a political solution.
With AFP
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