The Foreign Minister invites her Algerian counterpart to Madrid when the borders reopen | Spain

The Foreign Ministry is already planning to resume one of its essential tasks, interrupted by the coronavirus: business trips. Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya plans to meet her Algerian counterpart Sabri Boukhadoum as soon as the reopening of borders is normalized. The head of Spanish diplomacy invited the minister to Madrid during a telephone conversation they had this Thursday, according to Foreign sources. In that conversation, the two most thorny issues in the bilateral relationship were avoided: the irregular immigration of Algerians to the Andalusian coasts and the litigation on account of the delimitation of waters that the Maghreb country made and that causes an overlap with waters near Majorca.

Algeria is an increasingly important partner for Spain in the so-called southern neighborhood. In addition to the enormous dependence on gas from that country —more than half of Spanish supply— a different phenomenon has been added in recent months. It is the increasing arrival of undocumented migrants who embark from the Maghreb country. Algerians are the first nationality by number of arrivals in Spain so far this year, a trend that Brussels observes with concern because it involves an intensification of mafia activity on this route, which was much less active before.

Although migrations were the subject of discussion in the visit that González Laya made to Algiers shortly before the borders were practically closed due to the pandemic, on March 4, in the telephone talk this Thursday, there were no references to migration. Nor was it a matter that had warmed up at the beginning of the year despite dating back to 2018: Algeria’s unilateral delimitation of its waters and which included some belonging to the Cabrera National Park, in the south of Mallorca.

Foreign sources argue that the conversation between the two ministers was framed in “regular contacts with friendly countries in our immediate neighborhood.” The talk focused on the health and economic impact of covid-19, the most recurring issue among leaders in recent months. They also referred to the tensions in Libya, which is experiencing an open conflict for power between the so-called Unity Government and the forces of General Hafter. The minister, little given to litigation and claims, has preferred to leave these matters for a face-to-face meeting, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

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