Bouteflika to attend the 25th Annual Africa-France Summit

Algerian President Bouteflika decided to participate in the 25th Annual Africa-France Summit in the southern French city Nice on Monday and Tuesday.

 

• Bouteflika’s decision came to put an end to the uncertainty swirling around the possibility to boycott the summit, despite the insistence of the French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy.
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• The Elysee palace confirmed participation of the president Bouteflika and announced that he will be the sole representative of the Maghreb countries, along with his Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Abdelaziz, following withdrawal of both Moroccan king Mohamed VI and Tunisian president Zinelabidine Ben Ali, and Libyan Muammar Gaddafi.
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• The Elysee palace refused to talk about the possibility of holding a bilateral summit between Bouteflika and Sarkozy on the sidelines of Nice summit.

• The last visit by President Bouteflika to France was on July 13, 2008, when he attended the celebrations of the establishment of the Union for the Mediterranean, launched by Nicolas Sarkozy.