Khadija Tachfine Thursday 15 February 2024 – 12:03 source: Hespress
In response to the royal initiative aimed at promoting Sahel countries’ access to the Atlantic Ocean, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced on Tuesday the creation of “a free trade zone” with five countries.
“Algeria will see the establishment of free trade zones between it and its sister countries in 2024, starting with the sister country of Mauritania, then the Sahel countries of Mali and Niger, in addition to the countries of Tunisia and Libya,” stated Tebboune during his speech delivered via videoconference.
On the occasion of the 41st meeting of the Steering Committee of the Heads of State and Government of the African Development Agency (NEPAD), the Algerian President went on to say that his country “is committed to achieving the goals of economic development and continental integration, and emphasized “the importance of working to improve the level of efficiency of African economic integration operations.”
Tebboune pointed out that “this integration is particularly linked to improving infrastructure by increasing cooperation between the public and private sectors and leveraging national resources,” calling for “enhancing regional networks for production and trade by bolstering productive capacities.”
The Algerian President’s move can be seen as an attempt to counter Morocco’s initiative announced on November 6, 2023 by King Mohammed. Four countries have officially joined the initiative, namely Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad.
Facing Morocco’s initiative, Algiers previously responded by suspending loans to some countries participating.
Mali, which used to borrow from Algeria based on agreements dating back to 1965 and 1977, became no longer eligible for loans from the Algerian regime. Republic of Niger and Burkina Faso, which both had agreements with Algeria since 1975, were also targeted by the said decision.
Experts previously argued that the Algerian regime’s move was a mere reaction to the political developments between Rabat and the African countries. In contrast, others saw it as an attempt to exert influence on the current situation through punitive measures.
