France and Algeria set aside a two-year diplomatic falling-out to agree to intensified cooperation on domestic security and defence in a meeting Saturday between Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune and French armed forces minister Alice Rufo.
As part of Rufo’s visit, France’s ambassador to the North African country and former French colony, Stephane Romatet, returned to his post after being recalled about a year ago at the height of the dispute.
Following her two-hour meeting with the Algerian leader, Rufo said it had provided an opportunity to discuss “security and defence cooperation”.
Tebboune and Rufo also discussed ways to “intensify” their cooperation on migration issues, as well as “judicial cooperation”, particularly in the area of drug trafficking.
The diplomatic spat between Paris and Algiers began in 2024 when France declared its support for a Moroccan plan to grant autonomy to the disputed territory of Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty.
Algeria is the main foreign backer of the Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the former Spanish colony, which Morocco controls and claims as an integral part of its kingdom.
The row then escalated over a number of other issues including the detention of Boualem Sansal, a Franco-Algerian writer.
After the meeting, Rufo also said that French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes would receive a first consular visit since being detained on terror charges a year ago.
Gleizes was sentenced to seven years in prison last December, and on Tuesday his family said he had withdrawn his appeal in the hopes of receiving a presidential pardon.
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