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Algerian President in Italy Discusses Energy, Renewed Clashes in Libya

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (APZ)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (APZ)
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Algerian President in Italy Discusses Energy, Renewed Clashes in Libya

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (APZ)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (APZ)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune discussed in Italy the European need for gas, the renewed clashes in Libya, illegal migration, the instability in the Sahel region, and the war on terrorism.

Earlier, Tebboune announced that his country was determined to adopt the Italian experience to establish small and medium enterprises.

The Algerian presidency had announced in a statement that Tebboune would start a three-day state visit to Italy on Wednesday at the invitation of his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella.

"This visit is of paramount importance to the historical friendship relations and the development of bilateral ties in various fields, particularly business cooperation. The visit is also part of the new vision of the two heads of state and their willingness to give a fresh impetus to dialogue and strategic cooperation between the two neighboring and sisterly countries," said the statement.

It also aims to create a new dynamic for dialogue and strategic cooperation between the two neighboring and friendly countries.

The statement did not refer to the matters discussed between Tebboune and Italy’s President and Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

However, diplomatic sources confirmed that several issues would be addressed, namely the partnership with Italy to transfer its experience in small and medium enterprises.

Algeria wants SMEs as a pillar for its economic launch after it pledged to supply all of Rome's gas needs to replace Russian gas that was suspended due to the Ukraine crisis.

Furthermore, the sources highlighted that both Algeria and Italy are concerned about the situation in Libya and the return of hostilities between the warring parties.

They agreed on the need to hold general elections as the only solution to restore stability in the country.

On the issue of illegal migrants, the two sides explained that Algeria wants to boost its cooperation with Italy to stop the flow of illegal migrants, which has become a source of great concern for the two governments.

Meanwhile, the Italian Ambassador to Algeria, Giovanni Polizzi, stressed the importance of Tebboune's visit to Italy, noting that the intensity and frequency of bilateral visits at the highest level certainly reflect the excellent level of bilateral relations between Italy and Algeria.

In an interview with the El-Khabar newspaper, Polizzi recalled many important examples of Italian investments in Algeria.

"There are important examples of Italian investments in Algeria: I am naturally thinking of the hydrocarbons sector (with the main role of Eni), but also of the steel industry, defense, or, more recently, renewable energies," said the ambassador.

Polizzi added that Italy is committed to increasing the volume of investments and that Rome follows with interest the developments after implementing the new investment law, hoping to improve the business climate.

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Arab World

Gaza's Christians 'Heartbroken' for Pope Who Phoned them Nightly

A Palestinian woman walks outside the Holy Family Church after the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, in Gaza City April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian woman walks outside the Holy Family Church after the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, in Gaza City April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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Gaza's Christians 'Heartbroken' for Pope Who Phoned them Nightly

A Palestinian woman walks outside the Holy Family Church after the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, in Gaza City April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian woman walks outside the Holy Family Church after the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, in Gaza City April 21, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Members of Gaza's tiny Christian community said they were "heartbroken" on Monday at the death of Pope Francis, who campaigned for peace for the devastated enclave and spoke to them on the phone every evening throughout the war.

Across the wider Middle East, Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian Christians, both Catholic and Orthodox, praised Francis' constant engagement with them as a source of solace at a time when their communities faced wars, disasters, hardship and persecution.

"We lost a saint who taught us every day how to be brave, how to keep patient and stay strong. We lost a man who fought every day in every direction to protect this small herd of his," George Antone, 44, head of the emergency committee at the Holy Family Church in Gaza, told Reuters.

Francis called the church hours after the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Antone said, the start of what the Vatican News Service would describe as a nightly routine throughout the war. He would make sure to speak not only to the priest but to everyone else in the room, Antone said.

"We are heartbroken because of the death of Pope Francis, but we know that he is leaving behind a church that cares for us and that knows us by name - every single one of us," Antone said, referring to the Christians of Gaza who number in the hundreds.

"He used to tell each one: I am with you, don't be afraid."

Francis phoned a final time on Saturday night, the pastor of the Holy Family parish, Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, told the Vatican News Service.

"He said he was praying for us, he blessed us, and he thanked us for our prayers," Romanelli said.

The next day, in his last public statement on Easter, Francis appealed for peace in Gaza, telling the warring parties to "call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace".

'PEACE IN THIS LAND'

At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, on the site where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, the superior of the Latin community, Father Stephane Milovitch, said Francis had stood for peace.

"We wish that peace will finally come very soon in this land and we wish the next pope will be able to help to have peace in Jerusalem and in all the world," he said.

In Lebanon, where a war between Israel and Hezbollah caused widespread casualties and extensive damage last year, sending millions from their homes, members of the Catholic Maronite community spoke of Francis' frequent mentions of their plight.

"He's a saint for us because he carried Lebanon and the Middle East in his heart, especially in the last period of war," said a priest in the southern Lebanese town of Rmeish, which was badly damaged during Israel's military campaign last year.

"We always felt he was very involved and he mobilized all the Catholic institutions and funds to help Lebanon throughout the crises that we went through," said Marie-Jo Dib, who works at a social foundation in Lebanon.

"He was a rebel and I really pray that the next pope will be like him," she added.

Francis made repeated trips to the Middle East, including to Iraq in 2021 where he learned that two suicide bombers had attempted to assassinate him in Mosul, a once cosmopolitan city where the ISIS terror group proclaimed a so-called caliphate from 2014-17.

He visited the ruins of four destroyed churches there and launched an appeal for peace.

In Syria, Archbishop Antiba Nicolas said he was holding mass at the historic Damascus Zaitoun church when he was handed a slip of paper with the news.

"He used to say 'dearest Syria' every time he spoke of Syria. He called on all international organisations to support Syria, the Christian presence and the church in Syria during the crisis in the past years," Nicolas said.