Tunisia aligns with Algeria's policy on Sahara issue

In a significant diplomatic shift, Tunisia has aligned more closely with Algeria on the issue of Western Sahara. President Kais Saïed of Tunisia has embraced the official Algerian stance, instructing his Foreign Minister, Mohamed Ali Nafti, who has been in office since August 25, 2024, to prioritize «the defense of the right of peoples to self-determination» as a core principle of Tunisian diplomacy, according to local media reports.

This move underscores a deepening of ties between the two North African nations. President Saïed, echoing the position of his Algerian counterparts, has reinforced this new foreign policy direction by asserting Tunisia's opposition to «non-interference in the internal affairs of states».

Saïed's declaration represents a further alignment with Algeria's foreign policy. Notably, on October 29, 2021, Tunisia abstained from a UN Security Council vote on a resolution concerning the Sahara. In a related development, President Saïed extended a warm welcome to the Polisario Front leader during the 8th Japan-Africa summit, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), held ten months later.

The diplomatic rapport between the two leaders continued with a meeting on November 1 in Algiers, coinciding with an Algerian national holiday, further solidifying the close relationship between Tunisia and Algeria.