Algerian president’s visit to Cairo bears no clues on Arab Summit

Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune has finished his official visit to Egypt, where he met with President Abdel Fattah El Sissi in Cairo.

The Algerian-Egyptian presidential meeting saw the officials part “empty-handed,” as El Sissi insisted on the need to respect the sovereignty of the Arab countries represented in the United Nations.

With the exception of the Libyan file, which seems to have been able to unify the Algerian and Egyptian sides’ views on the necessity of holding presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya, it does not seem that the meeting hosted by the Egyptian Federal Palace resulted in any understanding regarding the Arab summit and Western Sahara.

Nabil El Andalousi, a researcher in international relations, said that the official visit of the Algerian president to Egypt is governed by many considerations and contexts.

Andalusi stressed, in a statement to Hespress AR, that the central context of the visit is the announcement of the postponement of the Arab summit, which Algeria is hosting this year.

The researcher said that the visit comes after a tour by Ramtane Lamamra, the Algerian Foreign Minister, to a number of influential Arab capitals, to gain their support for the upcoming Arab summit and achieve consensus on the major issues discussed at the summit.

Lamamra visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Qatar, but has seemingly failed to reach a clear agreement on the axes of the summit and how to make it successful.

Various political issues are currently contested in the Arab world, but the Western Sahara file has reached a consensus among most if not all Arab nations, with the exception of Algeria, who have reiterated their support to Moroccan sovereignty over the territory, all while adhering to the Moroccan autonomy plan under the auspices of the United Nations.

The Algerian president’s visit to Egypt has seemingly not culminated in an agreement on the summit’s planning or agenda, as Algerian and Egyptian media exclusively reported on “efforts and plans to advance bilateral cooperation across various sectors.”