These Are The Messages To Be Conveyed To Russia, China, Italy and Germany

The Algerian Authorities have put forth their internal political projects, namely, postponement of the April 18th elections and the holding of a national inclusive conference in anticipation of the transition to a “second Republic”, in addition to waging other foreign endeavors in an attempt to reassure traditional partners that the current developments in the hierarchy of power will not affect the strategic interests that bind these countries with Algeria.

These efforts will be commissioned by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ramtane Lamamra, who is starting a shuttle tour of the Russian Federation, the Republic of China, Italy and the People’s Republic of Germany in his first mission abroad since he returned to the Foreign Affairs ministerial department last week.

The most important thing that brings these countries together is that they are all strategic allies of Algeria, thus making this tour a station to ask many questions, notably regarding their backgrounds and dimensions, especially since this shuttle tour comes in a very sensitive juncture.

Millions of Algerians have been taking to the streets every Friday, over the past few weeks raising demands for a radical change in the management in the country’s affairs.

Russia, the first country to be visited by a Government representative, has been for a long time a traditional partner and major ally of Algeria from the very beginning of its independence.

It is Algeria’s first supplier of arms before the Soviet Union disintegrated and was inherited by Russia in the early 1990s.

China for its part is Algeria’s largest trade partner and is the preferred country to benefit from deals in the infrastructure, housing and public works sectors.

Relations between Algeria and Beijing are characterized by continuity and stability. They have never been bedeviled by crises.

Algerians view China as the greatest friend and the latter is present in the collective memory of the Algerians by building symbols for the country, such as the Palace of the Nations conference hall and the Opera house in Algiers, which was a gift from the Chinese Government to its Algerian counterpart.

After China, Italy is the third leg of Lamamra’s tour, which is the first importer of Algerian gas, with more than 51 percent of its needs from this energy source, the only European country that has not fallen into disputes with Algeria over energy relations, unlike Spain and France.

The latter have often expressed their discontent by demanding a review of Algerian gas price contracts, Rome is a quiet customer, a factor that makes this country on the northern shore of the Mediterranean one of Algeria’s strategic partners.

Germany will be the fourth leg of Lamamra’s tour, and the importance of this country in being the EU’s giant and leader, thus earning the favors of this economic giant, is a win for the rest of the EU.

The exclusion of France from this tour remains linked to considerations and calculations related to the sensitivity of bilateral relations, which are hostage to historical accumulations and logjams from the French side.

The reading that can be learned from this tour is that Algeria wants to send a message to these strategic partners that the events the country is going through and the identity of the personality who will spearhead the next stage won’t affect the privacy of the bilateral relations and does not alter anything in its obligations towards its partners.

To all intents and purposes, the change in regimes in countries usually brings about results that may harm some countries and benefit others.

Such fears are often caused by the quiet changes imposed by the street or by violent revolutions. However, the Algerian situation nowadays is very different, as the demands of the street have so far been accepted by the authorities.