🇩🇿Week of October 26

Police in Algiers arrested four people, among them a woman, who were operating in an organised criminal group specialising in illegal drug trafficking. The judicial police's first district seized 1 kilogram and 153 grams of cocaine during the operation, carried out over the past week.12

In the south, national security teams dismantled a cross-border organised crime network trafficking drugs and seized 69 kilograms of cocaine. Two members of the network were arrested, and the cocaine was hidden in the cavities of a refrigerated truck.345

The operation in the south was carried out by the research and intervention brigade (BRI) of the Tamanrasset wilaya security directorate, which the national security statement said foiled a plan to move a cocaine shipment from one of the southern wilayas.65

Attributed claim: Outlets differed on the Algiers case: Ennahar and its news site reported four arrests, while elmawkie.dz and the daily El Ittihad reported three arrests and the seizure of one kilogram of cocaine. A separate wire report said national security foiled an attempt to smuggle more than a quintal of cocaine and arrested five people.12789

The Polisario Front said on Monday from Madrid that it has begun legal proceedings in Spanish courts to cancel the licence under which the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair operates flights linking Madrid, Lanzarote and Dakhla in Western Sahara, according to the Sahrawi news agency. The move targets the airline's authorisation for the route rather than a single flight.1

A legal and rights report issued in the Spanish capital Madrid found that rulings by the European Union's Court of Justice exclude Western Sahara from the agreements concluded between the EU and Morocco, including those covering civil aviation. The report said operating flights to Dakhla raises legal problems connected to sovereignty over the territory and the rights of the Sahrawi people.2

The Sahrawi news agency reported that the report, titled "Tourism in the Context of Occupation," states that the European Court of Justice has affirmed the invalidity of flights and of the aviation and commercial agreements concluded with Morocco in Western Sahara.3

El Khabar reported that the Polisario Front intends to file a complaint against Ryanair over its operation of flights to Dakhla.4

The Green Climate Fund approved its first climate project in Algeria, aimed at supporting the country's efforts against desertification and restoring degraded ecosystems. The decision was announced at the fund's board meeting on Wednesday in the Songdo International Business District in South Korea, alongside approval of another landmark project to be carried out in Mexico.1234

The approval gives Algeria access to financing from the fund for the first time, with the project framed around combating desertification and ecosystem restoration.24

The board session that cleared the Algerian project took place in South Korea and also approved a separate project for Mexico.1

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has appointed new ambassadors to Chile, Botswana and The Hague, with the presidential decrees naming them published in the Journal officiel on Sunday evening. A consulate also changes hands under the same round of appointments.1

Tebboune also named two new advisers to the presidency. Mohammed Abdelouahab Rouai becomes adviser in charge of reserved affairs and vetting inquiries, and Mokhtar Lakhdari is the second appointee, under presidential decrees published in Journal officiel No. 75.23

Attributed claim: The two outlets give different dates for the decrees behind the advisers: Algerie Eco says they are dated 18 October, while TSA reports the decrees were published on Tuesday 27 October without giving a signing date.23

Speaking at the gas summit in Moscow, Tebboune said Algeria would remain "a safe and reliable supplier" to Europe, in an address read on his behalf by Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb. He also argued that gas "is not an obstacle to the transition, but a safe bridge to it."45

Tebboune put the national renewable energy programme at nearly 22 billion euros, aimed at producing 15,000 MW by 2035, in the same Moscow address. Ghrieb had arrived in the Russian capital on Monday evening for the 8th GECF summit and the third Russia-Africa summit.678

The 28th ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum ended in Moscow on Monday with the draft "Moscow Declaration" sent to the forum's eighth summit, scheduled for Tuesday, for adoption. Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said at a press conference after the preparatory meeting that the draft rests on three basic principles: energy justice, technological neutrality, and guaranteeing supplies.12

On the sidelines of the eighth Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit, Algerian Minister of State and Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, 27 October. The two discussed the current state of bilateral relations between Algeria and Russia and ways to advance them, in preparation for upcoming bilateral events.345

Energy and Renewable Energies Minister Mourad Adjal inaugurated the Foulia photovoltaic plant in the commune of Guemar, in El Oued wilaya, on Monday 26 October. The plant has a capacity of 300 megawatts-peak (MWc). It is part of the national programme for the development of renewable energies.12

Adjal said the plant is the largest in Algeria and the second largest in Africa. The two accounts of the inauguration agree on the site, the capacity and the minister's role.12

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš arrived in Algiers on Monday 26 October accompanied by a ministerial delegation and a number of business representatives. The visit falls within efforts to strengthen cooperation and partnership relations between Algeria and the Czech Republic.12

Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb held bilateral talks with his Czech counterpart at the Government Palace, followed by an expanded meeting that brought together the delegations of both countries. The talks covered the current state and prospects of bilateral relations.34

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune received Babiš at the Presidential Palace the same day, during the Czech prime minister's visit to Algeria.5

Babiš's delegation included economic operators, and the visit was presented as aimed at strengthening economic and investment cooperation between the two countries.67

Arkab said Algeria is committed to strengthening international cooperation on gas and to respecting states' sovereignty over their natural resources and their right to choose their energy paths. He called for fair access to technology, financing and markets, saying this would help deliver reliable, affordable energy and support sustainable development.1

On the sidelines of the Moscow meeting, Arkab met Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi to discuss strengthening cooperation and partnership between Algeria and Qatar in the hydrocarbons sector.2

The Moscow ministerial session brought gas-exporting countries together in the Russian capital to discuss the challenges facing the gas market.3

Algeria's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications announced on Monday 26 October that internet service would face "significant" disruptions. The ministry said the cause was maintenance work on the undersea cable linking Algeria to Spain, and described the work as independent of its will.12

The disruptions were scheduled for the night of Monday 26 to Tuesday 27 October, according to the ministry's announcement. The maintenance operation targets the submarine cable that connects Algeria with Spain.21

The ministry said the notice applied to all citizens and subscribers. It gave no estimate of how long service would be degraded beyond the overnight window.1