Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf is holding a series of bilateral meetings at the United Nations in an effort to restore Algeria’s image, strained by tensions with several of its neighbours and international partners.
On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s high-level segment, Attaf met with his counterparts from Slovenia, Spain and the Netherlands. According to an official statement, the talks focused on bilateral cooperation and coordination within the UN Security Council, where Algeria currently serves as an elected member (E-10).
Algerian diplomacy is emphasising the relaunch of the intergovernmental commission with Ljubljana, the follow-up of its economic partnership with Madrid, and regional dossiers with The Hague. These moves are intended to signal to the international community that Algiers is seeking renewed engagement, at a time when its regional influence has sharply declined amid successive crises with Morocco, France, Tunisia and Italy.
This “New York offensive” reflects the government’s bid to break out of its isolation and reposition Algeria on the multilateral stage. Yet observers note that ongoing tensions with the European Union over gas contracts, along with the severing of diplomatic ties with Rabat, severely undercut the credibility of this outreach effort.
Attaf also participated in a UN Security Council debate on the link between artificial intelligence, peace and security, where Algiers defended “the right of African nations to embrace the technological revolution.”
However, analysts argue that this universalist rhetoric contrasts with Algeria’s rigid regional diplomacy, where it has struggled to forge stable alliances and remains locked in a confrontational posture.
MK/sf/lb/as/APA