Brussels, 07/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - Algiers is now receptive to Euro-Mediterranean policy. That, essentially, is what is to be learnt from the visit (the first since 2008) by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) secretary general, Fathallah Sijilmassi, to Algiers on 23 December 2012.
Sijilmassi was greeted by members of the Algerian government, notably the foreign minister, Mourad Medelci, who confirmed his country's commitment to Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, including within the UfM. The UfM has come in for considerable criticism in Algiers since it was launched in Paris in July 2008. Medelci's announcement also bears out the “thaw” in bilateral Algerian-European relations noted during the recent session of the Association Council when the government under the current prime minister, Abdelmalek Sellal, agreed to become part of the European Neighbourhood Policy and to conclude an action plan for in-depth political dialogue on governance and economic transparency.
During the visit by the UfM secretary general, Medelci underlined that the year 2013 “should prove to be a beginning for implementing concrete projects, mainly concerning the Maghreb region, in areas such as energy, scientific research, water resources and protection of the environment”. Sijilmassi said the aim of the UfM was to “speed up implementation of common projects, develop a growing number of such projects, with initial implementation in 2013, and ensure these are enhanced to closely articulate with all existing sub-regional initiatives in order to allow us to move forward” (our translation throughout). (FB/transl.jl)