Blinken meets with Algerian FM to discuss shared interests
Rising tension in the Sahel region is beginning to vex the Biden administration, especially given that Algeria has joined the chorus of chest beating over the delicate situation in Niger.
Secretary Antony J. Blinken said on August 9 that the US and Algeria share important security, economic, people-to-people ties amongst a lot of shared interests.
The two countries have shared interests particularly when it comes to dealing with terrorism. The US Secretary of State said during the meeting with Algerian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf, that advancing peace and security in Algeria in general was key, but specifically in the country’s Sahel region, according to Saudi news outlet Asharq Al-Awsat.
The Algerian foreign ministry revealed that during the meeting in Washington, the pair discussed the situation in Niger, Mali, and Libya and reaffirmed the two countries’ support for peaceful solutions to these crises as well as discussing the election of Algeria as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the year 2024.
READ: Biden refuses to help Kabylia victims in Algeria’s latest fires
The meeting on August 9 comes after President Biden’s poor approach to helping the victims in the Kabylia region as the breakaway republic suffered forest fires in July of this year.
The Kabyle government appealed to the US President to protect the people of the region in what the republic’s government called a “genocide”.
ASHARQ AL-AWSAT
