France wants “winner-winner” partnership with Algeria

French Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, will pay an official visit to Algeria on 16 and 17 December.

This new visit agenda includes deepening bilateral dialogue in the framework of the continuity of the State’s visit to Algeria that began by the French President, Francois Hollande, in December 2012.

French Embassy said the visit will be suitable for holding the first meeting of government’s high-level committee, which constitutes a new body of regular dialogue between the two governments headed by the French Prime Minister and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmalek baskets, at the presence of several Ministers of the two countries.

“The visit will also provide an opportunity for the French Prime Minister to communicate with the French and Algerian institutions, which will meet on the same day”, French Embassy added. 

Jean-Marc Ayrault will also visit the city of Oran (Western Algeria), which is home to many of the projects falling within the context of the economic cooperation development between Algiers and Paris, within the framework of partnership “Winner-Winner”, where he will check out Oran Tramway, “Renault” and “Lafarge” Companies, as well as cooperation projects between the two countries that were embodied in favor of Algerian youth, especially in the field of Higher Education and Vocational Training, and will visit the Polytechnic School in Oran.

French PM’s visit, according to other sources, is expected to be an opportunity to open the files that remained under discussion, negotiation and controversy between the two countries, including the “Tibhirine Monks” issue, after Algeria accepted the arrival of the French judge, as well as the visa and the movement of persons, in addition to the file of the “Nationalization of Michelin”, and other files that are the most important trade and economic cooperation, and security and military coordination, especially in the fight against the organized crime and counter-terrorism in the light of “results” of France’s military intervention in Mali.

The French Prime Minister’s visit to Algeria, comes immediately after the visit of the Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal to France, where he was received by President Francois Hollande.

PM Sellal said in a speech to representatives of the Algerian community in France, that realizing peace in Algeria was the outcome of an effort by President Bouteflika , who succeeded in the policy of national reconciliation.

Previously, Sellal represented President Bouteflika at the Elysee Summit for Peace and Security in Africa, which was hosted by the French capital Paris last week. He asserted that stability is a priority for the government.

“Algeria is also facing transcontinental terrorism, linked to drugs, which is still intensifying the criminal activities. Algeria has enough capacities to defend itself in the framework of what is permitted by the Constitution. We live in a ​​very turbulent area. We have an ideology and the constitution explicitly states that it does not allow any Algerian soldier to fighting in a foreign land.”

Visits by Senior officials of both Algeria and France comes with the approach of the Presidential Elections, and is considered an important political event by the French Official and Parallel circles, as the Algerian Interior Minister received the French ambassador, as well as his American counterpart, in what is read by observers as political talks between Algeria and its partners.