Algerian President to visit Russia in June

According to a diplomatic source of Vedomosti, Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebbun will visit Russia in mid-June. This visit will mean the resumption of direct personal contacts between the leaders of the two countries during high-level visits. A source close to the system of military-technical cooperation confirmed the preparation of the visit. Close relations between Algeria and the USSR in the 90s. the last century have been paused. It arose because of the war with terrorist groups in Algeria and the instability in Russia at the time.

In the early 2000s Russian-Algerian ties have intensified. The first official visit of Algerian President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika to Moscow took place in early April 2001. During the visit, the parties signed a declaration on strategic partnership. In 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Algeria. During the visit, an agreement was signed on the settlement of Algeria’s debt to the former USSR, which paved the way for large-scale military-technical cooperation. As a result, the National People’s Army of Algeria was supplied with the latest Russian combat aircraft and helicopters, tanks, submarines and air defense systems worth more than $15 billion. According to a source close to Rosoboronexport, military-technical cooperation with Algeria continues and is now one of foundations of bilateral relations. It is supported despite the conduct of a special military operation that requires an increase in the supply of weapons to the Russian Armed Forces.

The trade turnover between Russia and Algeria in 2021 amounted to $3.007 billion, which is 3.2% more than a year earlier, follows from the data of Russian customs statistics. At the same time, Russia’s exports to Algeria were $2.989 million, while imports from Algeria were only $18 million.

In February 2008, Bouteflika visited Moscow again. The return visit was made by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010. After that, there were no bilateral visits of the leaders of the two countries for 13 years, their communication took place on the sidelines of international forums. The visit of the Algerian president to Moscow is a landmark event in the foreign policy of the two countries, says Boris Dolgov, an expert at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. “Firstly, Algerians are showing interest in Russia, despite pressure and threats of sanctions from the West. This is an indicator of the importance of our country in the Arab world, and in particular in North Africa. Secondly, after the departure of the previous president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in 2019, Algeria was not active in the international arena and in the Russian direction, and now it will catch up,” he says. During this time, Dolgov continues, a number of regional issues have accumulated that the Algerian leadership can discuss with Moscow. “First of all, this is a security problem in neighboring Libya, where there are Russian interests. In addition, the parties will coordinate efforts within the framework of inter-Arab cooperation and the return of Syria to the League of Arab States, in which Algeria plays an important role,” the expert believes.

The Algerian leadership, with the help of Russia, is going to solve its foreign policy tasks and receive economic preferences, continues Sergey Balmasov, senior expert at the Institute of the Middle East. In November 2022, Algeria applied to join the BRICS, he recalls. Other main topics of negotiations, according to Balmasov, may be issues of military-technical cooperation. In addition, according to Balmasov, the Algerian side will discuss issues of coordinating efforts in the global gas market. “And for Russia, Algeria is a big window to Africa. This country is very authoritative on the continent because of its intelligence capabilities and military power. During the period of the colonial struggle of African peoples for independence, this country provided its training bases to the rebels – many South African fighters, who today occupy leadership positions in South Africa, passed through this network, ”says Balmasov.