Jordan King’s Relations Ruse: Algeria Update
The winner takes it all. Algeria is a clear winner in the Ukraine war on almost all levels and so it is befitting that countries from the Middle East want to bring it in from the cold. But there’s also Palestine
Algeria and Jordan signed five agreements on 5th December during a ceremony co-chaired by Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and visiting King Abdullah II in the capital Algiers.
The agreements included a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral political consultations, an agreement on the mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic passports and a MoU between the two countries’ diplomatic institutes.
The two also agreed to establish a joint cooperation programme between the Algerian and Jordanian official news agencies and mutually recognise the eligibility certificates granted for seafarers and maritime training programmes.
Earlier in the day, Algerian and Jordanian ministers held talks and discussed ways to promote bilateral ties in various fields, including trade exchange.
Jordan is Algeria’s sixth largest trading partner in the Arab region, with an overall trade exchange of $219.24 million in 2021, the APS news agency reported.
Jordanian Senator Mazen Darwazah said that Jordanian investment in Algeria has gradually increased over the last two decades, with the drug industry spending nearly $1 billion.
Jordanian-Algerian Business Council Coordinator Khaled al-Soub said that Algerian law allows Jordanian investors to expand their projects and acquire shares from foreign partners.
Energy expert Hashem Akel said that Algeria was rich in petrol and natural resources and hoped that energy imports from the country would increase after Jordan receives preferential prices.
King Abdullah arrived in Algiers on Saturday evening on a state visit at the invitation of the Algerian president.
He held talks with Tebboune on Sunday and discussed boosting Jordanian-Algerian cooperation in politics, economics, trade, investment, and defence, Jordan News Agency reported.
The meeting, which was attended by senior officials from both sides, also highlighted an interest in maintaining coordination and consultation on Arab causes and other issues of mutual concern.
The king reiterated the centrality of the Palestinian cause and the need to protect Palestinians’ legitimate rights.
He called for a just and comprehensive peace plan based on the two-state solution which establishes an independent and sovereign Palestinian state along the June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He also stressed the significance of maintaining the historical and legal status quo at Al Aqsa Mosque.
