Pedro Sánchez to visit Algiers as Spain Algeria ties thaw

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will travel to Algiers on July 20 for a working visit aimed at easing tensions between the two countries, strained since his support in March 2022 for Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara.

The visit follows a series of key meetings between Algerian and Spanish officials, notably one last March in which Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Algiers.

Following those talks, the Algerian president decided to reactivate the Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation, signed on October 8, 2002, in Algiers during a visit by former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar.

As a reminder, Algeria suspended the treaty in June 2022 after Pedro Sánchez refused to reverse his support for Morocco’s autonomy initiative for Western Sahara.

At the time, the Algerian president said that «the Spanish authorities have embarked on a campaign to justify their position on the Sahara, in violation of their legal, moral, and political obligations as the administering power until decolonization is validated by the United Nations».

Since then, Algiers has gradually softened its stance toward Madrid, opting for a more pragmatic approach. In November 2023, Algeria proposed appointing a new ambassador to Spain to replace the one recalled for consultations on March 19, 2022, marking the end of a 17-month diplomatic rupture.

Despite this thaw, Madrid has not changed its position on Western Sahara, reaffirming its support for Morocco’s autonomy plan.