Medelci: “President Bouteflika issues daily guidelines for the running of state affairs”

The Algerian foreign minister, Mourad Medelci, has affirmed that President Bouteflika’s current illness has not hampered the managing of state affairs adding that the premiership services are receiving daily instructions from the head of state to this effect.

In a statement on Monday to the national radio channel “Radio Algeria international” in Algiers, Mr Medelci said that despite his illness, the President of the Republic Mr Abdellaziz Bouteflika is still issuing guidelines and instructions coupled with warm encouragement to the services of the Premiership in order to ensure the smooth running of the country’s affairs at all levels.

He pointed, in this connection, to the intense flurry of diplomatic activity witnessed of late by Algeria, the latest of which was the official visit paid to Algeria by Turkish Prime Minister Tayep Reccip Erdogan and before that the working visit undertaken here by the chairman of the France – Algeria friendship Association and other foreign officials.

Mr Medelci added that this flurry of diplomatic activity had been encouraged by the head of state himself who is daily in tune with what’s happening in Algeria, despite his convalescence abroad.

Knowledgable observers note that President Bouteflika’s ability to manage state affairs, even from a distance, is yet to be added to other Algerian officials’ sanguine declarations that the head of state’s health condition is steadily improving and that his comeback home is expected shortly.

Concerning the pending file related to the Algerian hostages detained since April 2012 by the Mujao extremists somewhere in the Sahel region, the foreign Minister said that according to reliable information possessed by the foreign ministry services, all the Algerian captives were still alive without giving further details.

 Mr Medelci further reiterated on this occasion Algeria’s staunch refusal to pay ransoms to terrorist or criminal groups in exchange for the release of hostages.

He pointed out that several countries in the world at large were now backing and adopting Algeria’s unyielding stand not to finance terrorism through ransom payments to terrorist groups.