ALGIERS — French Prime Minister
Elisabeth Borne arrived in
Algeria on Sunday with a top-level delegation for a visit aimed at improving ties
with the former French colony and major gas exporter.
اضافة اعلان
Her two-day trip along with 16 ministers — over a
third of her government — comes just six weeks after President Emmanuel Macron
concluded a three-day visit that sought to end months of tensions with Algiers.
Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane welcomed the
delegation at the capital’s main airport.
Borne is expected to sign deals on economic
cooperation, including energy — although deliveries of natural gas to France
are “not on the table”, according to her office.
She was set to lay a wreath Sunday at a monument to
martyrs of Algeria’s eight-year war for independence, and visit a cemetery for
French nationals who lived in Algeria during France’s 132-year rule, which
ended in 1962.
Ties between the North African country and its
former colonial ruler had seen months of tensions after Macron last year
questioned
Algeria’s existence as a nation before the French occupation,
accusing the government of fomenting “hatred towards France”.
But during his visit in August, Macron and his
Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune drew a line under the spat.
On Sunday, the two spoke on the phone and confirmed
their “satisfaction with the positive direction” of ties, Tebboune’s office
said.
Borne is also set to meet Tebboune and is expected
to sign several agreements with premier Benabderrahmane.
In an interview with news website Tout Sur l’Algerie
(TSA), she said the visit would focus on “education, culture, the ecological
transition and the economy”.
“More cooperation will be a source of growth for our
two countries,” Borne said.
Gas supplies to Europe
The contentious subject of
the two countries’ history, particularly during the war, will not feature
prominently on her agenda.
During Macron’s visit, the president had announced
the creation of a joint commission of historians to examine the colonial
period, including the war. France says the panel is still being set up.
Macron has ruled out a state apology for acts
committed during the colonial period.
Borne and her cohort are the latest in a string of
top European officials to visit Algeria,
Africa’s top natural gas exporter, in
search of alternatives to Russian energy supplies since the start of the war in
Ukraine.
Algeria’s Sonatrach signed a $4 billion oil and gas
production deal with Italian, French, and US majors in July, but experts have
cast doubt over Algeria’s ability to ramp up capacity in the short term.
In her interview with TSA, Borne noted that France
does not depend heavily on natural gas.
But she said Paris wants to develop joint projects
in the sector with Algeria “to increase the efficiency of its gas production
capacity, which will increase its export capacity to Europe”.
The EU’s energy commissioner Kadri Simson is also expected
in Algiers on Monday and Tuesday.
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