Algeria to Open Two Border Crossings with Mauritania Soon

Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad inspects works at one of the two crossings with Mauritania (Interior Ministry)
Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad inspects works at one of the two crossings with Mauritania (Interior Ministry)
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Algeria to Open Two Border Crossings with Mauritania Soon

Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad inspects works at one of the two crossings with Mauritania (Interior Ministry)
Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad inspects works at one of the two crossings with Mauritania (Interior Ministry)

Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad said on Saturday that the two fixed joint border crossings with Mauritania will open “soon.”

The two countries had previously announced that the border crossings would start operating in October 2023.

At the end of his visit to Tindouf, Merad said on Saturday that the progress of works at the two Algerian-Mauritanian border crossings has exceeded 99%, and therefore will be soon delivered.

He said the two crossings are highly necessary for trade exchanges between Algeria and Mauritania.

The Algerian government has a plan to develop trade with countries that share borders with Algeria, especially Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.