Three Assignments By New Italian Ambassador To Algeria Within A Week

 • The Acting Speaker of the Council of the Nation, Salah Goudjil, received, on Sunday, the new Italian ambassador to Algeria, Giovanni Pegluise, and this is the third mission undertaken by the Italian diplomat in a period not exceeding a week. Significant movement coincided with fake leaks about Rome’s intention to open a consulate in the occupied Sahrawi territories.

• A statement from the upper Chamber of Parliament said that Goudjil and his guest focused on the reality of the bilateral relations that bind the two friendly countries, and emphasized the keenness of the two sides to promote them to a distinct and real partnership, as well as “the need to work on activating the parliamentary friendship groups in the parliaments of the two countries in order to accompany the dynamism and the convergence between the governments of the two countries at all levels.

• During the meeting, Goudjil stressed the doctrine of Algeria’s foreign policy, which is based on “respecting the sovereignty of states and supporting the imprescriptible right of peoples to self-determination, while pointing to Algeria’s refusal to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries”.

• Before meeting with Mr Goudjil, the Italian ambassador, carried out two tasks, the first being his reception by the Chairman of the National People’s Assembly, Slimane Chenine (on December 20th), and then sending a message to the Algerians on social networks (December 22nd), through which he confirmed the strength of relations between Algeria and Rome, and “his country’s keenness to strengthen the bonds of friendship and political and economic cooperation ties between the two countries”.

• Chenine and his Italian guest tackled last Sunday, according to a statement issued by the Lower Chamber of Parliament, the state of “the distinguished bilateral relations between the two countries at the political, parliamentary, cultural and economic levels, as well as topical international and regional issues of common concern”.

• Two days after this meeting, the Italian ambassador published a post on social media, in which he addressed the Algerian people, stating that “the friendship between Italy and Algeria has deep roots dating back to before the independence of Algeria and has always been strengthened by geographical proximity and cultural and human relations between our two peoples.

He also praised the volume of trade exchanges exceeding $ 8 billion dollars, and stressed the need to bolster and diversify this strong partnership to include areas of energy transition, food industry and modern technologies, and work to “face up to all common challenges and geopolitical stakes in the Mediterranean and the Sahel regions”.

• Two days after this publication, that is, on December 24th, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted the leaks that spoke about its intention to open a diplomatic representation in the occupied Western Sahara, and confirmed its support for the efforts of the United Nations to solve this issue.

• The Spanish electronic magazine “El Espanyol” reported that Rome was heading towards the upcoming opening of an Italian consulate in occupied Western Sahara, a news that was denied by the Italian Foreign Ministry, which confirmed that “Italy is following with great interest the issue of Western Sahara and extends full support for the work of the United Nations”.

The Algerian-Italian relations, at the political and economic levels, are a symbol of stability compared to some European countries, such as France, which has witnessed in recent years multidimensional conflicts, as well as with Spain due to lingering divergences over LNG gas prices.