Djerad, Mechichi Pave The Way To Tebboune’s Visit To Tunisia

Algerian-Tunisian relationships regained their vitality after nearly a year of stagnation due to the focus of each country on its problems caused by the emerging Coronavirus crisis, which is a step that comes in a special circumstance, marked by Tunisia’s assumption of the presidency of the UN Security Council.

In this regard, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad invited his Tunisian counterpart, Hicham Mechichi, to pay a visit to Algeria (the date of which has not yet been set), intending to arrange an upcoming visit by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to Tunisia next March. Djerad also congratulated his Tunisian counterpart on Tunisia’s assumption of the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for January.

“Algerian-Tunisian relationships are a symbol of stability and continuity, for decades, as they have never been damaged under any emergency. Algeria used to be the first station for any new Tunisian president outside his country, confirming this fact”, a statement issued by the Algerian Prime Ministry said.

“Djerad held talks with Mechichi in which he invited him to visit Algeria. The two parties discussed preparations for holding the High Joint Committee decided during this visit and strengthening bilateral cooperation, and regional problems that concern the two countries, foremost of which is the crisis in Libya, which has been a headache for years, for both Algeria and Tunisia.

Mechichi’s upcoming visit to Algeria will be a station to arranging the visit that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is expected to pay to Tunisia next month, which was the visit that was scheduled in the same month of last year, but the spread of the pandemic led to its postponement.

The visit of the Tunisian official comes on the heels of disturbing statements issued by former senior officials in the Tunisian state, including the former president, Moncef Marzouki, and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Wanis, who made malicious statements against Algeria because it supported the Western Sahara issue and these statements were previously frowned upon by the Algerian authorities.

The Algerian ambassador to Tunisia, Azouz Baalal, conveyed to the Tunisian authorities the annoyance of the Algerian side over these statements then the eastern neighbour responded that “the strength of relationships with Algeria stems from the values of brotherhood and common struggle in historical epics written by the people of Tunisia and Algeria”.

“The purity of Tunisian-Algerian relationships cannot be disturbed by unofficial stances that do not bind Tunisia in anything, and only those who have them are bound”, the Tunisian authorities explained.

Algeria and Tunisia share one position on the Libyan crisis, and they often worked together to reach a peaceful solution to this crisis, and Tunisia’s presidency of the United Nations Security Council constitutes, in one way or another, a contribution, to support the common Algerian-Tunisian viewpoint on resolving the Libyan crisis, and it is not unlikely that the Tunisian presidency of the Security Council will revive the debate on the Western Sahara issue.