ALGIERS – Since independence in 1962, Algerian diplomacy, now the keystone of the new Algeria, has played an important role in terms of mediation for the resolution of crises and conflicts, particularly in Africa, relying on a number of foundations and principles that constitute the doctrine of the country’s foreign policy.
Algerian diplomacy is based on three inalienable principles: the right of peoples to self-determination, non-interference in the internal affairs of States and the promotion of inclusive dialogue in international conflicts, regardless of their gravity.
It is on these foundations that Algerian diplomacy has been built and then consolidated since independence, and it is in this sense that the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has been committed since his election in 2019.
Thus, Algeria continues to participate actively in the extinction of several hotbeds of tension in the countries of the Sahel and Africa, particularly in neighboring Mali, in its dual capacity as leader of the international mediation and chairman of the follow-up to the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, resulting from the Algiers process.
The Algerian mediation had been crowned with success, the diplomatic work having culminated in June 2015 in the signing of the peace and reconciliation agreement in Mali, called “Algiers Agreement”, currently being implemented.
Also in neighboring Libya, Algeria, which promotes the policy of good neighborliness, plays a decisive role in the resolution of the political and security crisis that has hit this country since 2011. Its position is based on political non-interference and the rejection of any foreign intervention in the resolution of the conflict in Libya, advocating a political solution through an inclusive inter-Libyan dialogue.
In this context too, Algiers had hosted, over the past few years, a series of inter-Libyan talks as part of its ongoing efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis.
And in Western Sahara, Algeria continues to make sustained efforts to resolve the conflict in the last colony in Africa.
Algeria’s constant position for a just and lasting political solution guaranteeing the self-determination of the Saharawi people and advocating dialogue between the two parties (Morocco and the Polisario Front) remains unchanged.
Thanks to the mediation of Algeria also, another conflict had known a happy outcome. This is the border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia (1998-2000). Here too, Algeria was right in offering its assistance to both parties to resolve the conflict peacefully.
At the summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) held in Algiers in July 1999, the parties to the conflict had accepted the terms of application of the Algiers Framework Agreement.
With regard to the Renaissance Dam crisis, Algeria is contributing to the collective effort aimed at settling this dispute between Egypt and Sudan and Ethiopia, by favoring the path of negotiations between these three countries as the ideal way to reach an agreement that guarantees the rights of all parties in a fair and equitable manner.
Algeria, an influential state in the African continent
After a decline in its diplomatic activity for a certain period, Algeria redeployed its diplomatic force on the African continent and regained its role as an influential state by participating in international summits or conducting new mediations aimed at settling disputes in the African continent.
In this wake, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ramtane Lamamra, assured that: “Algeria will establish itself as a pivotal country which will act, as in the past, with regard to the export of peace, stability and security across the African continent, starting with the Sahelo-Saharan region, to the hotbeds of tension all over the continent”.
Since independence and until now, the voice of Algeria remains listened to and solicited, particularly on the continent. Very recently, Guinea requested the support of President Tebboune for a “successful and peaceful” transition in this country, which is in the grip of a political crisis.
The strengthening of the country’s diplomatic action, by favoring an approach faithful to the foundations of the Algerian State, namely the path of dialogue for the settlement of conflicts and regional crises, has been the workhorse of the President of the Republic. , from his investiture to the supreme magistracy.
A few months after his election, President Tebboune said, during his speech at the 33rd ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in February 2020 in Addis – Abeba, that “the new Algeria will remain attached to its principles and commitments, and will henceforth fully play its role in Africa and in the world”.
Translated from APS
