John Desrocher: “I Want To Convey The True Picture Of Algeria”

The United States ambassador to Algeria, John P. Desrocher, implicitly justified his intensive meetings with political officials in Algeria since he was appointed to succeed Joan A. Polaschik, saying; “My concern is based on conveying the true image of Algeria as an important country in North Africa”.

The American ambassador to Algeria is continuing his series of meetings with senior officials in the country and leaders of political parties, as these meetings came at the request of the American diplomat, most recently with the President of the National People’s Assembly, Said Bouhadja, on last Wednesday.

In his meeting with the chairman of the National People’s Assembly, John Desrocher said his concern was focused on conveying the true image of Algeria as an important country in North Africa. 

He expressed his understanding of the endeavor to diversify bilateral cooperation and appreciation of Algeria’s potential.

According to a statement that was issued by the National People’s Assembly on Wednesday, the US ambassador to Algeria renewed his country’s demands to continue efforts to facilitate the arrival of investors to promote partnership between the two countries, especially in the fields of agriculture and natural resources.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the historical relationships between the two countries and asserted the need to upgrade, strengthen and diversify the existing cooperation to cover various fields, especially technological, energy, agricultural and military. 

The US diplomat has committed himself to promoting exchanges between the two parliaments in order to serve this purpose.

For his part, the chairman of the National People’s Assembly, Said Bouhadja, said the parliamentary diplomacy is a key factor in the consolidation of bilateral relationships and the promotion of dialogue as a complement to official diplomacy.

Bouhadja urged the exchange of delegations to serve these objectives, recalling that Algeria adopts a peaceful policy with all countries and does not intervene in their internal affairs, which qualifies it to play a pivotal role in maintaining peace and security, especially in its geo-strategic environment, explaining that Algeria realized economic achievements and large structures and becomes the gateway to the continent and was able to achieve an internal balance despite the repercussions of the global economic crisis.

The Ambassador of Washington in Algeria, and since his appointment in Algeria, launched a number of meetings that sparked a wide debate in the political arena, and some parties wondered about the background of these meetings.

Once appointed as ambassadors to Algeria or even in the countries where they represent their country, American diplomats organize meetings with civil society actors, political parties, ministers and even senior officials.

Previously, Washington suspended $ 17 million which is an annual aid to Algeria, that is distributed between humanitarian assistance and support for civil society, and $ 1.4 million a year in security cooperation between the two countries.

The decision came in response to threats by the US president, which he raised in the face of the countries that voted against his decision in the UN Security Council to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the state of the Zionist entity (Israel), knowing that Algeria was among the many countries that voted against his decision.