Algerian-Tunisian Satisfaction Following The Land Borders’ Opening

Presidents Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied, expressed their satisfaction with the joint decision to reopen the borders to travellers between the two countries, after the 28-month decision to reopen the land borders came into force on Friday, July 15th.

A statement by the Presidency of the Republic said that President Tebboune received a phone call from Kais Saied, during which they exchanged “opinions on various common issues between the two brotherly countries, with a constant emphasis on continuing to upgrade bilateral relations to serve the interests of the two brotherly peoples”.

The phone call dealt with the decision to reopen the land borders between the two countries, which, according to the presidency statement, allows “citizens of the two brotherly countries to intensify the exchange of visits to consolidate the bonds of brotherhood and love between the two peoples”.

The decision to reopen the land borders was made, during the visit that led Kais Saied to Algeria to participate in the 60th anniversary of Independence Day, to put an end to many of the questions that were raised in the eastern neighbour by analysts and media about the reason for “prolonging the life of the decision to close the borders despite the decline of the Corona pandemic, which was the main reason for the decision to close borders on March 16, 2020”.

Parties preferred to give other dimensions about keeping the borders closed, claiming that this was due to “political differences between the leaders of the two countries” and “Algerian anger at Tunisia’s policy over several regional files”, to the extent that some parties went further, claiming that Algeria would punish Tunisia by cutting off gas, even though Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune asserted during his visit to Tunisia in October 2021, that “keeping the decision to close the borders is due to health reasons only”, then Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra confirmed on a visit to Tunisia that Algeria will remain supportive of it, without neglecting the steps which it has taken for two whole years to support the Tunisian economy, such as granting interest-free loans, providing logistical assistance in the areas of training and combating terrorism, and health assistance to confront the Coronavirus and the gas file as well.

With the opening of the land borders coinciding with the summer season, Tunisia hopes to attract the largest number of Algerian tourists and to reach the figures of the year 2019, which were a reference in the field of tourism, as the number of Algerians who entered Tunisia at the time reached nearly 3 million, especially since the tourism sector in Tunisia, which is considered an important tributary in the country’s economy was one of the sectors most affected by the Corona pandemic.