Brussels, 29/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - Mourad Medelci, the Algerian foreign affairs minister, announced on Wednesday 28 May that his country and the EU would have “technical meetings over the next few days” about energy cooperation, with a view to enabling Algeria “to participate in energy distribution in Europe and establish partnerships with European countries on renewable energies in order to benefit from their experience on the matter”. In what he said in his country's press, the minister looked at European-Algerian cooperation. “We are still in a preparation phase for wider and more comprehensive cooperation in sectors such as agriculture, industry and tourism”. Algeria is expecting its European partners “to help it end its dependency on hydrocarbons and diversify its exports”.
According to the media, he also mentioned, “the announced failure” of the Union for the Mediterranean, which was particularly down to reservations expressed by partner countries. This was a reference to the discussions on 24 May in Cairo, between Arab and Mediterranean countries' foreign affairs ministers. Their reservations were not just political but also focused on the “economic approach of the project”. Project funding was given particular mention, “the EU is symbolically participating and is asking us to go to the markets to find the necessary assistance”. Algiers and other countries see this, according to the press, as a risk of distorting the idea and creating a business area instead of a strategic cooperation partnership. Algeria announced that 13 foreign affairs ministers from the Mediterranean Forum of member states (neighbouring countries on both sides only) would be meeting in Algiers on 4 June. (F.B.)