Algeria’s Army Chief on Discreet 1st-Ever Visit to France

Algerian Army chief, Gen. Said Chanegriha, second right, shakes hands with French Chief of Staff Gen. Thierry Burkhard at the French defense ministry, Tuesday, Jan.24, 2023 in Paris. (AP)
Algerian Army chief, Gen. Said Chanegriha, second right, shakes hands with French Chief of Staff Gen. Thierry Burkhard at the French defense ministry, Tuesday, Jan.24, 2023 in Paris. (AP)
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Algeria’s Army Chief on Discreet 1st-Ever Visit to France

Algerian Army chief, Gen. Said Chanegriha, second right, shakes hands with French Chief of Staff Gen. Thierry Burkhard at the French defense ministry, Tuesday, Jan.24, 2023 in Paris. (AP)
Algerian Army chief, Gen. Said Chanegriha, second right, shakes hands with French Chief of Staff Gen. Thierry Burkhard at the French defense ministry, Tuesday, Jan.24, 2023 in Paris. (AP)

Algeria’s powerful army chief is on a discreet but extraordinary official visit to Paris, the first by a top-ranked Algerian general since independence from France more than six decades ago.

Gen. Said Chanegriha met Monday with President Emmanuel Macron, the Elysee Palace said, ahead of a meeting Tuesday with French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.

Chanegriha was invited to France by his counterpart, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Thierry Burkhard, who had met him last August during a visit to Algeria by Macron. The French president was on a mission to try to heal wounds and seek a measure of reconciliation after France’s 132 years as a colonizer.

Algeria was the crown jewel of France’s colonial empire with a special status that made it part and parcel of France. Ties between the two countries have been strained since Algeria won independence in 1962 after a brutal seven-year war.

Chanegriha’s visit was low-key with no official announcements by the French, in contrast to Algerian authorities.

The Algerian Defense Ministry said Chanegriha gave a message to Macron from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during their Monday meeting without revealing its contents. Tebboune is expected to visit Paris later this year.

The French defense minister and Gen. Burkhard were present at the meeting with Macron.

The two countries have mutual military concerns, notably in the unstable Sahel region that borders southern Algeria and where French troops are fighting extremists. The French also likely have deep concerns about the increasingly bitter relationship between Algeria and neighboring Morocco over the Western Sahara, where Algerian-backed rebels are seeking independence in territory claimed by Rabat.

Chanegriha received a formal welcome Monday at the prestigious military institution Ecole Militaire. A tweet Monday by Burkhard with photos of the ceremony disappeared on Tuesday.

In Algeria, the army plays a prime though behind-the-scenes role. Chanegriha’s predecessor, Ahmed Gaid Salah, helped push now-deceased President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from office in 2019, ending his 20 years in power amid months of peaceful protest marches.

Gaid Salah visited Paris in 2006 but in an unofficial capacity, reportedly checking on the health of Bouteflika who at the time was being treated for stomach problems at a French military hospital.

The Algerian army grew out of the fighting force in the independence war. A political wing served as the sole political party running Algeria for three decades.

While Bouteflika, as president, visited France and addressed the nation’s parliament, Algeria’s army chief never received an official invitation from Paris before Chanegriha.



Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
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Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo

Lebanon's new government will negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a new program and will work to deal with the country's financial default and public debt, according to a policy statement approved by the cabinet late on Monday.

The statement, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, said the government would work for an economical revival that could only be achieved through restructuring the banking sector.

Lebanon has been in deep economic crisis since 2019, when its financial system collapsed under the weight of massive state debts, prompting a sovereign default in 2020 and freezing ordinary depositors out of their savings in the banking system.

Beirut reached a draft funding deal with IMF in 2022 - contingent on reforms that authorities failed to deliver.

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, who took office as part of a new government agreed earlier this month, told Reuters an IMF mission is expected to visit Lebanon in March.

Jaber said he had met the IMF's resident representative in Lebanon, Frederico Lima, and confirmed that the government plans to move ahead with reforms.

Lebanon's political landscape has been turned on its head since the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, long a dominant player in Lebanese politics, was badly pummelled in last year's war with Israel.

Reflecting the shift in the power balance, the government policy statement did not include language used in previous years that was seen to legitimize a role for Hezbollah in defending Lebanon, saying instead "we want a state that has the decision of war and peace".

The statement said it was required to adopt a national security strategy and a foreign policy that works to 'neutralize' Lebanon from conflicts.

In the field of energy, the Lebanese government will seek to resume work in oil and gas exploration, according to the cabinet statement. It said the government planned to establish a Ministry of Technology and Artificial Intelligence.

With a new administration in neighboring Syria, the statement said the Lebanese government believed it has an opportunity to start a serious dialogue aimed at controlling and demarcating the borders and working to resolve the issue of displaced Syrians in Lebanon.