Brussels, 04/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - The year 2012 will be a flagship year when it comes to political change in Algeria, Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said on Tuesday 3 January. It will be a time for rekindling relations with the EU, including the prospect of an energy strategy agreement, currently being negotiated, Medelci said.
Speaking on the French language public radio channel III, Medelci asserted: “An agreement on energy is currently being finalised and may be signed in 2012”. He added: “Algeria is Europe's largest and safest energy supplier”.
According to media in Algeria, reporting on the minister's comments, Medelci described Euro-Algerian relations as highly significant at three levels - political, economic and human. The Algerian foreign minister pointed out that Algeria is “one of the most important, the most serious and the most secure energy providers for the EU”. The new neighbourhood policy is a good omen, according to Mourad Medelci, in that it provides an opportunity, allowing one to hope that “the new conditions will allow Algeria to sign up to this renewed policy”. On the other hand, the foreign minister commented on the subject of the free movement of people from Algeria to Europe, saying: “Things are moving more slowly on this issue”.
According to the same sources, the minister spoke of trade and pointed out that the dismantling of tariffs has for the past year been the subject of several rounds of talks. The aim is to “restore a number of customs tariffs during a fixed period of time and to ensure that the period set for the free trade area, foreseen for 2016 or 2017, is extended until 2020”, Medelci said. The press reports him as saying: “We are moving forward towards this and we have the hope that, during our upcoming meetings, there will be still greater progress towards reaching a final agreement”. (FB/transl.jl)