Spanish PM visits Algeria in diplomatic rapprochement effort
After years of difficult relations between Spain and Algeria, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Algiers on the 20th of July. According to France24, he met Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in an effort to diplomatically reconcile the two countries.
Sanchez explained Spain wanted to “deepen” its relations with Algeria, an important step in the bilateral relations, as Algeria had cut diplomatic ties in reaction to Spain’s support for Morocco’s Western Sahara plan. It had been four years since a Spanish official last visited Algeria.
The meeting “had a particularly important significance because Spain considers Algeria not only as a neighbouring state but as a strategic partner…It is fundamental to reinforce the political dialogue between Spain and Algeria and create a mutually beneficial economic partnership,” added Sanchez. President Tebboune described an honest and successful meeting with the prime minister.
When Spain announced its support for Morocco’s Western Sahara autonomy plan in 2022, Algiers recalled its ambassador, halted commercial flights and froze administrative cooperation. Spanish firms were even excluded from Algerian public tenders. For three years, Madrid tried to maintain its trade interests while the political relationship with Algiers remained broken. Eventually, business interests outweighed the political tension. Trade between the two countries increased by nearly 170% in 2025, despite the freeze.
Pedro Sanchez was accompanied by some important executives of Spanish energy companies, an area of mutual interest, as Algeria has been Spain’s leading supplier of natural gas since the beginning of 2026, thanks to the MedGaz gas pipeline. Talks of increasing the supply by 10% were held in March 2025.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune told the press they had spoken about energy and different ways of bringing more Spanish investments to Algeria, migration, as well as the Western Sahara topic.
On the migration crisis, Algeria and Spain have had to further their cooperation as a notable increase of migrants departing from the Algerian coast to the Balearic Islands has been observed in the past two years, with 24.5% more embarkations in 2025, compared to 2024.
France 24, Maghrebi.org
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