The President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune affirmed Friday, in the works of the “Russia –Africa” Summit, that Algeria aspires to a strong and mutually beneficial African-Russia partnership that gives rise to a fair global order; emphasizing Algeria’s important efforts to support development in Africa, notably by reducing debts and developing infrastructures in several countries of the continent.
In an address read on his behalf by Prime Minister Aïmene Benabderrahmane in a session that brought together the heads of State and Government, chaired by the Russian President Vladimir Poutine, President Tebboune said that Algeria aspires to a strong and mutually beneficial African-Russia partnership that enables achieving our peoples’ aspirations and expectations for further progress and development, and giving rise to a fair global order, in accordance with the principles of the international law and multilateralism.”
“It is, first of all, absolutely essential to help Africa overcome the debt crisis and facilitate the access to financing loans,” at least with the same conditions imposed on other countries, he said.
In this regard, he called “to review the approach followed in terms of resolving debt crisis, so that to enable the African countries to overcome this major obstacle to the access to new financing process.”
While broaching the challenges facing the continent, President Tebboune said that one in five African children suffer from the lack of schooling opportunities, and that over 600 million Africans live without electricity and drinking water, except for 25% of the populations of the continent, in addition to the deficit that nears USD100 billion every year in the financing of infrastructure projects, exacerbated by a debt estimated at one thousand billion dollars in 2022.
In this regard, President Tebboune welcomed the Algerian efforts which allowed “cancelling the debts of 14 African States and the work for debt rescheduling of other States,” underlining the budget allocated by the Algerian State, via the National Agency of International Cooperation for Solidarity and Development, and estimated at USD1 billion, to the development projects in the African States, especially as financing projects have already been launched in Niger and Mali.
In its move for the continental development, said the President of the Republic, Algeria is working to execute projects in the neighbouring States, namely the road of the African unity linking Mali, Niger, Tunisia and Chad over 10,000km, as well as the road Tindouf (Algeria)-Zouerate (Mauritania) over a distance of 800km.
After affirming that the African-Russia cooperation “has made giant strides since the solidarity of Russia in the past with the African countries in their struggle against colonialism, until the joint willingness, expressed today, for the building of a fruitful economic and political partnership,” President Tebboune said that the Africans are expecting from Russia to contribute to the development efforts in the continent.
For the President of the Republic, the development of the African-Russian partnership must take into consideration Africa’s economic ambitions, the extension of the African-Russian cooperation, the effective implementation of the economic aspects according to a well-defined schedule, ensuring a strong participation of the African Union in this operation, the preservation of the basic rules governing the international community and the strengthening of multilateralism.
The President of the Republic pointed out that Algeria bank, in its moves for development, on the cooperation relations with its foreign partners, including Russia, a “strategic partner,” as it is the second largest commercial partner of Russia in the African continent.
He welcomed the different bilateral partnerships between Algeria and Russia in the industrial, agricultural, scientific and technical fields, as well as the consultations and exchange of views at the level of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) and of OPEC+ on ways to stabilize energy prices in the international markets.
Source: Algeria Press Service