Spain and Algeria turn the page: Sánchez travels to Algiers to seal the normalization of relations and increase gas imports

The visit that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will make this Monday to Algeria represents a decisive step to consolidate the recovery of relations between Madrid and Algiers after several years marked by one of the biggest diplomatic crises between both countries. The trip will serve to stage the full reestablishment of bilateral ties and to promote a new phase of cooperation focused especially on the energy sector.

The meeting between Sánchez and the Algerian president, Abdelmayid Tebboune, comes after a prolonged rapprochement process initiated in 2023. The tension erupted in 2022, when the Spanish Government backed Morocco's autonomy proposal for Western Sahara, a decision that led to the withdrawal of the Algerian ambassador in Madrid, the suspension of the Treaty of Friendship between both countries, and a significant cooling of political and commercial relations.

After months of diplomatic contacts, the return of the Algerian ambassador and the progressive recovery of economic exchanges, the relationship took a new step forward last March, when the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received in Algiers the announcement of the reactivation of the Treaty of Friendship. This Monday's meeting between both leaders aims to symbolize the definitive closing of that period of disagreements.

Beyond the diplomatic component, energy is emerging as one of the central axes of the trip. Sánchez will be accompanied by the third vice-president and Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, as a sign of the strategic importance that the Government attaches to this issue.

Algeria is currently Spain's main gas supplier and the North African country's second European partner in this area, only behind Italy. The Executive believes there is room to expand Algerian gas imports and strengthen energy collaboration, a goal shared by the authorities in Algiers, who are also interested in attracting new investments.

With that purpose, representatives of key companies in the sector such as Repsol, Naturgy, Moeve, and Enagás will participate in the meetings planned in the Algerian capital. The presence of these companies reflects the intention of both governments to convert the political recovery of the relationship into new economic and energy opportunities for the coming years.