Packed Agenda Awaits Abdelmadjid Tebboune For The Coming Weeks

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has a packed agenda for his visits to and from brotherly and friendly countries starting this month, in a new dynamic, imposed by the current international situation and the requirements of Algeria’s intertwined interests, which must be immunized from any emergency inconveniences.

While he was in Algeria on an official visit, the Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had invited President Tebboune to visit Moscow, in a statement after his meeting with the President of the Republic.

The relations between Algeria and Moscow have a special feature, as the bilateral relationships are nearly six decades old, and full of achievements, which was the reason behind Lavrov’s emphasis on “the necessity of joint action between Algeria and Russia and giving it a more strategic character by signing a new document that will be the basis for bilateral relations between the two countries”.

The Russian official spoke about one of the most important strategic aspects of Algerian-Russian relations, which is related to “cooperation in the military and technical fields”, and expressed his country’s appreciation for the “confidence placed in Russia for cooperation in this field” by the Algerian side, which was saluted by his counterpart, due to the official Algerian position on the developments in Ukraine, which was described as a “committed and objective position”.

The Russian side is betting on the need to expand the horizons of cooperation between the two countries, after the trade exchange reached nearly three billion dollars, an issue that will be discussed during the meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission for cooperation that will be held in Algeria soon.

In addition to military cooperation, the energy sector is emerging as one of the catalysts for revitalizing bilateral relations, as emphasized by the Russian Foreign Minister, especially in light of the current data that characterizes the global energy market, due to the Russian-Ukrainian war and the consequent European and American sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas exports.

Based on the invitation made by the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, during his recent visit to Algeria last month, President Tebboune is attending to meet this invitation, which is expected to take place within the current month, according to the Italian official.

Italy is one of the most prominent friendly and partner countries of Algeria, and this partnership was strengthened by the signing of new agreements in the field of energy, to become the exceptional importer of Algerian gas in the old continent, an agreement that spilt a lot of ink, especially in Spain, which found itself targeted by this agreement, Certainly, as said by many parties in this country, Madrid has lost a reliable partner, especially in the field of energy, which may have negative repercussions shortly.

In addition to the visit of the Russian Foreign Minister, Algeria is awaiting a visit from French President Emmanuel Macron, this month, especially since President Tebboune addressed his French counterpart, immediately after announcing his victory in the run-off elections last April 24, a distinguished congratulations that also included an invitation to visit Algeria, followed by a call from Macron earlier this week aiming to revive the faltering bilateral relations.