Algerian foreign minister visits US

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By Walid Ramzi for Magharebia in Algiers – 17/01/12

Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci last week met with US officials in Washington for bilateral talks.

During the four-day visit, which ended on Saturday (January 14th), Medelci met with his counterpart Hilary Clinton. The talks focused on economic ties, military co-operation and security in the Sahel.

"Relations between the United States and Algeria are growing positively," Medelci said, citing the economic sector, where the US remains the largest customer of Algeria's foreign trade.

The Algerian minister described the visit as an opportunity to "identify new horizons" of bilateral ties.

"I can only applaud the quality of the discussions that we have had and we have, all working together to work on all of these sensitive and difficult issues, and we are all striving and working together to improve the conditions of the inhabitants of these regions," he said.

Among the "difficult" issues were Sahel security, Western Sahara and Syria.

"Algeria will spare no effort to help improve our relations and the situation in the Maghreb and the countries of the Sahel," he said. "And of course, in order to do so, we are counting on the support of our partners, notably the United States."

When asked about the Western Sahara issue, Clinton said that the US supported "a peaceful, sustainable, mutually agreed upon solution to the conflict" and encouraged negotiations carried out by the UN.

Medelci briefed his US counterpart on the developments in the Algerian-Moroccan relations. He underlined his country's efforts to "enhance bilateral relations" with "the Moroccan brothers" and "give a push to the building of the Maghreb edifice".

With regards to the upcoming legislative elections in Algeria, Clinton said that her country was "eagerly watching the outcome" of the vote.

"I am pleased to hear that more women will be participating, and we are also very supportive of the Algerian government's invitation to international organisations to monitor the elections," she said.

During his visit, Medelci took part in a seminar held by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The event was followed a debate on the political developments in the Middle East and North Africa.

The minister laid out Algeria's reform plan, which consists of three main aspects: enhancement of democracy, improvement of the economic environment to attract local investment and diversification of the economy.

When asked about the standing of Islamist parties, Medelci said that they "have a presence in Algerian politics" and their "possible win" would not "make the news".

Algeria's Islamist parties have been present in parliament for about 20 years and are integrated in the political regime, he noted. The minister categorically denied that the army would intervene to stop the election in case of Islamists' win.

"The Algerian army is a republican army that respects the rules of Algerian constitution," he said.

The Algerian foreign minister called for reconciliation in Libya and said that Algeria was ready to extend a helping hand to Libya. He reiterated the importance of security co-operation to combat terrorism. He noted, however, that there are other serious issues, such as drugs and arms smuggling, which "also feed the insecurity".

Medelci on Wednesday (January 11th) visited New York for Algeria's assumption of the chairmanship of the Group of 77 (G-77). The coalition of developing nations was founded in 1964 to strengthen member states' negotiating capacity in the United Nations.

This content was commissioned for Magharebia.com.