Gas diplomacy gives Algeria leverage in negotiations – Spain, Western Sahara, Morocco,
The pace has picked up remarkably on the Algiers-Rome axis in recent days and weeks, in a way that is catching the attention of followers. The Italian government announced, in a press release on Tuesday evening, the visit of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi to Algeria scheduled for next Monday.
The visit of the Italian Prime Minister to Algeria comes in a frenetic international situation in the race for energy, and this crisis, which remains a direct consequence of the Russian-Ukrainian war, has led to deep polarization within the European Union , which manifested itself in the failure of certain countries to impose a proposal in particular for the “block purchase” of gas by Brussels, whereas a voluntary purchase was favoured.
Mr. Draghi had a telephone conversation with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune last Friday, and the global energy crisis was at the center of it, notably “the Italian-Algerian energy agreement and strategy”, as well as various bilateral institutional meetings and multilateral meetings, including the next bilateral government summit in Algeria, according to a statement issued by the Government Palace in Rome “Palacio Chigi”.
During this call, the Italian side asked Algeria to increase gas deliveries by around nine billion cubic meters per year, to be added to the 21 billion that Rome received from Algeria during the past year, bringing the total to thirty billion cubic meters per year at the old price, according to the Algerian ambassador in Rome, Abdelkarim Touahrieh, in a message crossing the Mediterranean towards Madrid.
What is happening between Rome and Algeria these days is what is called “gas diplomacy”, and as part of this strategy, Algeria has become a main target of the Italian government.
Draghi’s planned visit to Algeria comes two days following the visit of Eni’s Chairman and CEO, Claudio Descalzi, and a few days following the visit of a large Algerian delegation to Rome, led by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. , Chakib Rachid Kaid.
From the Italian capital, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that Algeria intends to “review the agreements with Spain in all areas”, and that it is in the process of reviewing the prices of gas exported to this country without other partners, in response to the sudden change in the Spanish position on the question of Western Sahara, which triggered the strong anger of Algeria.
At the end of the meeting which brought together the delegations of the two countries in Rome, the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Luigi Di Maio, explained that “Italy wants a 360-degree strategic agreement with Algeria, to intensify political dialogue, strengthen economic and energy cooperation and work together for the stability of the Mediterranean basin”.
The meeting, attended by sixty experts from various ministries and different agencies of the two countries, resulted in the signing of a comprehensive document that defines the main areas in which the two countries will implement joint projects.
The Algerian-Italian rapprochement does not seem isolated in the face of the race for the global energy crisis. Prior to Draghi’s arrival in Algeria, an Italian delegation traveled to the German capital, Berlin, to discuss ways to overcome this crisis, as well as to sign a bilateral solidarity agreement which might include gas sharing, as well to launch the search for additional sources of gas supply, a meeting attended by Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and his German counterpart, Annalina Barbock.
After Rome has become an exceptional partner of Algeria in the field of gas, there are indications for the birth of the Algiers-Rome-Berlin axis, which seeks an alternative to Russian gas, which opens the way to Italy to export excess gas cargoes to Germany, this is the axis that began to take shape in response to the undeclared alliance between Spain and France, which led to the current tension between Algeria and Madrid.
Mohamed Meslem
Echourouk online06/04/2022
Algeria #Morocco #Western Sahara #Italy #Gas #Spain
