US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Algeria this Wednesday, March 30, as part of the Middle East and North Africa visit, and met with Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra.
The US official’s visit is set to include a working lunch meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, before Blinken leaves for Washington again.
This is Blinken’s first visit to Algeria in his capacity as foreign minister, arriving after an unprecedented Israeli-Aarab summit in Israel.
After Israel’s Negev Summit, he visited Morocco and met both Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita and head of Government Aziz Akhannouch, in addition to a meeting with the Emirati crown prince, on a visit to the North African Kingdom.
US Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East and North African Affairs Yael Lambert said Blinken and his Algerian counterpart “will discuss regional security and stability, trade cooperation, and support for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
The visit comes amidst deep tension between Morocco and Algeria over the Western Sahara dispute, which currently threatens energy supplies from the region to Europe, as Algeria supplies an approximate 45% of Spanish gas imports.
The reopening of the Maghreb-Europe Gas pipeline may also be part of the discussion, as a reopening “will significantly decrease Europe’s dependency on Russian gas.”
But Algiers, a historic Moscow ally and fierce opponent of Morocco, is likely to deny the request. The North African republic is even now considering the non-renewal of its gas accords with Spain, in light of the latter’s latest support of Morocco’s autonomy plan proposal for Western Sahara.
Years after Washington’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, Algiers is still steadfast in its demand the US retracts the previous administration’s stance, which remains unlikely, as Moroccan-US relations seem to only be getting stronger.
While in Morocco, Blinken reiterated his country’s support for Morocco’s autonomy plan in a press conference, describing it as the “most realistic, serious” solution to the conflict.
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