Algerian-Moroccan relations should not be limited to closing borders, says minister

Algerian foreign minister Ramtane Lamamra said his country is attached to contributing in peace reinforcing in the region and in the international level.

Algeria’s foreign policy in the last fifty years showed its big capacity of mobilization in regional and international levels, Lamamra told Afrique Asie magazine.

Speaking about Algeria’s policy in support of liberation movements and decolonization, he said the international law was enriched by self-determination principle. “Either for the Palestinian cause or the Western Sahara issue, self-determination is the solution.”

He added that Algeria follows events in its region and it will do its best to support the Libyan government in its efforts for security and stability restoring.

According to Lamamra, Algeria took necessary measures to reinforce surveillance on borders to face terrorist groups in neighboring countries and preventing them from entering it.

He also said Algeria mobilized “huge means” which enabled to reduce terrorist threat and ensure the safety of residents and facilities in border areas.

Speaking about ransom criminalization, he said Algeria encouraged the international community to “criminalize” paying ransom to terrorist groups in return for the release of hostages.

The minister believes that Algerian-French relations are part of dynamism meant to care for the two countries’ interest and to meet their people’s expectations. “There is a common will from Presidents Bouteflika and Hollande to boost Algerian-French relations more and more,” he said.