Algeria’s foreign policy
The priorities of the Algerian Foreign policy are in line with its status as a pivotal state in its region. Strongly founded on the contemporary history of the country and deeply rooted in its Arab, Islamic, African and Mediterranean identity, these priorities translate the firm attachment of Algeria to the cardinal principles of self-determination and international solidarity and its constant action towards the consolidation of regional and international peace and stability.
Algeria has been during the 1960s and 1970s at the vanguard of the African continent struggle for decolonization, and continues to strongly support and provide its solidarity to the peoples still fighting to recover their right to self-determination, in accordance to the UN principles, namely the Western Sahara and Palestine peoples, strongly believing that self-determination is the unique viable solution to these long standing issues.
Along its 50 years history as an independent country, Algeria has demonstrated its important capacity to propose solutions and to build consensus through abundant past and current examples of settlement of sensitive and complex disputes. Algeria is playing a leading role in the mediation process of the Malian crisis, which led to the conclusion of a global agreement towards peace and reconciliation, signed by all the Malian parties. The ongoing process aiming to settle the Libyan crisis is another example where Algeria contributes directly to the international community’s efforts, with the central concern of the respect of the Unity, independence and sovereignty of the Libyan people as well as the inclusion of all the Libyan parties, at the exception of terrorist groups, towards the achievement of a political solution.
The fight against terrorism is a central priority of the Algerian external actions. Having itself faced the horrors of terrorism in a difficult international environment during almost a decade, and having accumulated a valuable experience and knowledge on how transnational terrorism operates, Algeria participates actively in the international community’s combat against this phenomenon, promoting a comprehensive approach dealing not only with its effects but also and more importantly with its root causes. The prohibition of the payment of ransoms by states, which is among the main sources of financing of terrorist groups, is a key measure for the success of this combat.
Regarding the architecture of the global Governance, Algeria actively militate for the UN reform on the basis of the reaffirmation of the General Assembly’s central role in the formulation and the articulation of the international cooperation for development and the implementation of its resolutions. The new threats and challenges to global security dictate also the priority to reform the UN Security Council, as it no longer reflect the current composition of the international community, in particular, the African continent.
As the global actions on the restricted domain of security can never ensure alone world peace and stability, Algeria calls for the realization of a “humanized globalization”, through more equitable international economic relations. This constitutes the fundamental condition that ensures the efficiency of the international cooperation towards poverty reduction and human development, along with the protection of the environment.