Foreign relations of Algeria

Since its independence from France in 1962, Algeria has pursued an activist foreign policy. In the 1960s and 1970s, Algeria was noted for its support of Third World policies and independence movements. Since its independence, Algeria has been a member of the Arab League, the African Union and of the United Nations.

Algeria has diplomatic relations with more than 100 foreign countries, and over 90 countries maintain diplomatic representation in Algiers.

History of foreign relations since independence

During Ben Bella’s presidency (1962 – 1965)

Following its independence in 1962, Algeria developed deep ties with many foreign countries with a heavy presence in the global scene. The Algerian government, pursuing the dynamics that had started during the Algerian War for Independence and into the Cold War used the country's strategic geopolitical position – at the crossroads of Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian world – to assert its own interests. Algeria came to see itself as a full actor in the Cold War and not simply a bystander caught in a crossfire between the Western and Eastern blocks. Moreover, Algeria played a central role in the creation of the Third World as a global political project, using its position at the intersection of international agendas – notably between non-alignment and Afro-Asianism positions, and between anticolonial and socialist movements.

Algeria at the center of the competition between the Western and Eastern superpowers

Being a newly independent country from colonial rule of a Western power – France – and having waged a liberation war with a socialist orientation, Algeria was naturally inclined to turn towards the Soviet Union and its allies. However, the country's strategic advantages increased its importance to the eyes of the Western block. Primarily, France wanted to preserve its interests in the oil and gas exploitations in Algeria. As Charles de Gaulle stated to the Algerian Finance Minister in 1963, “If the Algerian government respects its commitments and takes into account our interests, it can count on our cooperation”. Hence, French economic aid continued to flow in Algeria, to insure control on the Petroleum and Gas industry as well as maintain continued use of Algerian soil to run atomic tests in the Saharan desert. Under Ben Bella, diplomatic relations with France were normalized, the negotiations concerning oil and gas leading to an agreement in 1964. As to the United States, they wanted to prevent Algeria from becoming yet another socialist country joining the ranks of the Soviet block. Hence, along with minor military equipment, the United States provided Algeria with a food program (PL-480) which delivered free food to the population. However, the Algerian commitment to supporting anti-colonial movements in Africa went against American interests in the continent, which led to an indirect conflict with the United States and an increasingly hostile relationship between the two countries.

During the war for independence, the ALN had already benefitted from equipment, training and advice from communist countries: the USSR (though its help was quite timid until the final months of the war), China, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Moreover, ALN delegations had visited China and North Vietnam to learn from their guerrilla strategies. Help and support from the communist bloc therefore increased after independence:

• Even though Algeria was not a communist regime, the Soviet Union invested massive amounts of money and material help in the country. For instance, in 1963, the USSR granted $200 million in import credits for Soviet machinery to help build the Algerian industry, and committed to building a petrochemical research institute. The Soviet Union also agreed to buy agricultural products and minerals that Algeria was struggling to export. It was finally the country's main military supplier, providing planes, tanks, armored vehicles, ships, light weapons and ammunition for a total of 11 billion dollars from 1962 to 1989.
• The other great communist power, China, demonstrated its interest in Algeria as a fellow antiimperialist country. Hence, when Zhou Enlai visited Algeria in December 1963, he granted Algeria a low-interest loan of $100 million. Moreover, the Chinese were more aggressive in their support for armed groups fighting imperialist and neo-imperialist regimes in Africa. Algeria and China therefore cooperated on this matter, with China contributing to ANP training camps, and shipping weapons and revolutionary militants to Algeria.

The Sino-Soviet split strengthened the two communist countries’ competition for Algeria. However, China was inferior economically and militarily to the USSR, and could not match the USSR's industrial equipment and sophisticated armaments. Moreover, as the autogestion model proved to be widely inefficient, Algeria started to move towards a more centralized and Soviet-style economy by the end of 1964.

Algeria and the Third World project

Ben Bella's foreign policy was marked by globalism, as it was not restrained to a specific culture nor geographical region. Rather, the project of the Third World and its diverse manifestations – the Non-Aligned Movement, the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization, etc. – were meant to include all the developing and anti-imperialist countries, and Algeria intended to play a major role in its development.

This role is perfectly summarized by Amilcar Cabral’s – leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde – famous declaration that Algeria was the “Mecca of revolution”. Indeed, the Algerian foreign policy had been influenced by Frantz Fanon’s and other radical Third World thinkers’ urgings to “export revolution” to other countries suffering from the yoke of imperial oppression. Therefore, the support of armed nationalists and revolutionaries was one of the foundations of Algerian relations with African countries. Ever since 1960, the FLN camps in Algeria's neighboring countries (Morocco, Tunisia and Mali) had been used to provide training and material help to revolutionary movements. By 1963, Algeria was offering refuge, funds, weapons and training to rebels from a dozen African countries: the left-wing opposition in Morocco, the secessionist Sanwi government in Ivory Coast, the Sawaba party in Niger, the CNL (or “Simbas”) in Congo-Leopoldville, the UPC in Cameroon, the MPLA and FNLA in Angola (250 recruits were trained in Algeria and 70 tons of armaments were sent to this country), and several armed groups in Zanzibar, Portuguese Guinea, South Africa and Namibia.

However, the Third World project also materialized through the various conferences and international organizations that united developing countries. Firstly, the Non-Aligned Movement, which was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and which Algeria joined shortly after its independence, defined the concept of non-alignment in the Cold War as a way for poor countries to exploit the conflicts and tensions and hence to promote their own interests. According to Jeffrey J. Byrne, the Algerian conception of the Non-Aligned Movement was that of a “political, goal-oriented and geographically unbounded anti-imperial solidarity”. The Third World coalition could therefore encompass Latin America countries, and even Europe ones like Yugoslavia. Algeria was particularly important in this sense, as it acted as a bridge between blocs and regions. For instance, its position at the crossroads of the Arab and the sub-Saharan worlds enabled Algeria to create links and unity between these two regions: at Algeria's request, Arab countries supported Angolan and other African revolutions, while African countries endorsed the Palestinian cause. However, these global Third World solidarity links went further than Africa: for example, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam opened a permanent office in Algiers (one of only two that were located in non-communist countries). One of the most successful Third World projects was the Organization of African Unity, founded in Addis Ababa in 1963 to formalize and institutionalize the main Third World principles. Moreover, Algeria advocated for the creation within the organization of a “liberation committee”, the “Committee of Nine”, to support national liberation movements (even by military means). This embodies the Algerian view of Third Worldism: the institutionalization of collective defiance towards the imperial system.

Therefore, if the multipolarity of international relations – the traditional East versus West bipolarism, but also the intra-communist poles and the development of Third World alternatives – had benefitted the non-aligned states such as Algeria, the latter's increasing reliance on the Soviet Union – especially since the Sand War against Morocco in 1963 – risked jeopardizing the country's independence and its relations with other powers, such as the United States or China.

During Boumediene’s presidency (1965 – 1978)

Algerian foreign relations during the presidency of Houari Boumediene marked a shift towards more stable and Algero-centered policies, by opposition to Ben Bella’s cosmopolitism. However, this greater focus on the country’s economic needs and traditional Islamic culture did not end the period of international ambitions.

Algeria’s centrality in the Third World

Pan-Africanism and Pan-Arabism were strengthened during the Boumediene era. Algeria had joined the Arab League in 1962, and hosted its 1973 summit in Algiers. This strong relation with other Arab countries, notably with Egypt, was reinforced after Boumediene’s seizure of power. For instance, in 1966, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser sent thousands of teachers to support Algeria in the Arabization of its educational system. After Nasser’s death in 1970, Boumediene increasingly represented the political project of Pan-Arabism; and in 1973, Algeria played a major role in the organization of the war against Israel, as well as calling for oil to be used as a weapon in the OPEC. Moreover, in 1969, Algiers hosted the Pan-African Cultural Festival: this grandiose display of an African identity, forged from the continent’s common experience of Western imperialism, reunited anticolonial militants from numerous countries of the Third World. Far from being opposed, Pan-Arabism and Pan-Africanism were, under Algerian influence, united: Boumediène summoned an extraordinary session of the Organization for African Unity following the Kippur War in 1973, which resulted in the creation of a special committee to coordinate the Organization and the Arab League, and in the break of diplomatic relations of 42 African states with Israel. Finally, Boumediène presided over a larger and more powerful Non-Aligned Movement in 1973.

Algeria’s approach to international politics was motivated by the need for a “liberation” from the Western neocolonial economic superiority. Hence, in October 1967, Algiers hosted the meeting of the “Group of 77”, which united 77 developing countries on major revendications: a global reform of the terms of trade and a greater collaboration between Third World countries to set the prices for their raw materials. Furthermore, the main points of Boumediene's address to the United Nations General Assembly in 1974 – reparations for colonization and a transfer of resources from North to South – were adopted by UN. The notion of a “new international economic order” emerged as a way to reshape the world economy to the benefit of developing countries, based on the principle of sovereign equality between states.

A careful equilibrium between Cold War powers

Boumediene took pride in Algeria's non-aligned status, by claiming its distance from both Soviet-style socialism and Western capitalism, while the country enjoyed an increasing prosperity. However, support from the Communist bloc did not halt. Indeed, because of their dependence on raw materials and their lack of hard currencies, commerce between Third World countries was negligible. The USSR, on the contrary, was able to deliver military equipment, industrial expertise, and trade outputs: the Soviets replaced France as the first destination for Algerian wine, and provided 200,000 tons of wheat when a drought hit the country in 1966.

Once again, the support Algeria received from the Soviet bloc was not exclusive to that of the Western bloc. Even though Boumediene took strong public stands, as when he claimed in 1969 after a summer of violence against Algerians living in France that if the French government could not insure the security of Algerian immigrants, he would repatriate them regardless of the cost, Algerian-French relations were progressively normalized during the 1970 decade. This posturing, like the nationalization of oil in 1971, served to increase his popularity in internal politics. However, France remained a model of prosperity, Algeria was still heavily dependent on France economically, and in 1975, French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing made the first presidential visit since independence. More generally, Algeria continued to do business with the West, and avoided to be overly dependent on Soviet support. Indeed, despite the break of relations with the United States after the Six-Day War in 1967, the Americans had almost replaced France as Algeria's primary trade partner by the early 1970s. Therefore, the competition between the West and the USSR gave Algeria opportunities to diversify its economic partnerships.

During Bouteflika's presidency

Since his inauguration in 1999, President Bouteflika has sought to extend Algeria's international influence, traveling extensively throughout the world. In July 2001, he became the first Algerian President to visit the US White House in 16 years.

He has made official visits, among others, to France, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Germany, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.

Africa

Algeria has friendly relations with other countries in the Maghreb, Tunisia and Libya, and with Sub-Saharan countries Mali and Niger. Algeria has taken the lead in working on issues related to the African continent. Host of the Organisation of African Unity Conference in 2000, Algeria also was key in bringing Ethiopia and Eritrea to the peace table in 2000. It has worked closely with other African countries to establish the New Partnership for Africa's Development. Algeria has taken a lead in reviving the Arab Maghreb Union with other regional Arab countries.

Country	Formal Relations Began	Notes
Angola		Algeria has an embassy in Luanda. Angola has an embassy in Algiers.
Chad		Algeria has an embassy in N'Djamena. Chad has an embassy in Algiers.
Democratic Republic of Congo		Algeria has an embassy in Kinshasa. DR Congo has an embassy in Algiers.
Egypt		See Algeria–Egypt relations Algeria has an embassy in Cairo. Egypt has an embassy in Algiers.
Ethiopia		Algeria has an embassy in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia has an embassy in Algiers.
Ghana		Algeria has an embassy in Accra. Ghana has an embassy in Algiers.
Kenya		See Algeria–Kenya relations Algeria has an embassy in Nairobi. Kenya has an embassy in Algiers.
Libya		See Algeria–Libya relations Algeria–Libya relations have generally been amicable. Libyan support for the Polisario in the Western Sahara facilitated early post independence Algerian relations with Libya. Libyan inclinations for full-scale political union, however, have obstructed formal political collaboration because Algeria has consistently backed away from such cooperation with its unpredictable neighbour. (A vote by the CCN (Algeria) on June 30, 1987, actually supported union between Libya and Algeria, but the proposal was later retracted by the FLN Central Committee after the heads of state failed to agree.) The Treaty of Oujda between Libya and Morocco, which represented a response to Algeria's Treaty of Fraternity and Concord with Tunisia, temporarily aggravated Algerian-Libyan relations by establishing a political divide in the region--Libya and Morocco on one side; Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritania on the other. Finally, in 1988 Libya was invited to participate in the Inter-Maghrib commission that was responsible for developing the North African Union. The establishment of the UMA in February 1989 marked the first formal political or economic collaboration between the two neighbours. Algeria has an embassy in Tripoli and a consulate in Sabha. Libya has an embassy in Algiers.
Madagascar		Algeria has an embassy in Antananarivo. Madagascar has an embassy in Algiers.
Mali		See Algeria–Mali relations Algeria has an embassy in Bamako and a consulate in Gao. Mali has an embassy in Algiers and a consulate in Tamanrasset.
Mauritania		See Algeria–Mauritania relations Algeria has an embassy in Nouakchott. Mauritania has an embassy in Algiers.
Morocco		See Algeria–Morocco relations Algeria–Morocco relations have been dominated by the issue of self-determination for the Western Sahara since their independence. The national integrity of this former colonial territory has caused a deep-seated antagonism and general mistrust between the two nations that has permeated all aspects of Moroccan-Algerian relations. Algeria's interest in the region dates back to the 1960s and 1970s when it joined Morocco, Mauritania & Libya in efforts to remove the Spanish from the territory. After Spain announced its intention to abandon the province, then known as Spanish Sahara, in 1975, the united front presented by the Maghreb nations quickly disintegrated, as a result of Morocco, and subsequently Mauritania, staking claims to the territory. Algeria, although not asserting any territorial ambitions of its own, was averse to the absorption of the territory by any of its neighbors and called for self-determination for the Saharawi people. Before the Spanish evacuation, Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania agreed to divide the territory and transfer the major part to Morocco and the remaining southern portion to Mauritania. This agreement violated a United Nations (UN) resolution that declared all historical claims on the part of Mauritania or Morocco to be insufficient to justify territorial absorption and drew heavy Algerian criticism. Algeria has an embassy in Rabat, a consulate-general in Casablanca and a consulate in Oujda. Morocco has an embassy in Algiers and consulates-general in Oran and Sidi Bel Abbès.
Mozambique		Algeria has an embassy in Maputo. Mozambique has an embassy in Algiers.
Namibia		Algeria has an embassy in Windhoek. Namibia has an embassy in Algiers.
Niger		Algeria has an embassy in Niamey and a consulate in Agadez. Niger has an embassy in Algiers and a consulate in Tamanrasset.
Nigeria		Algeria has an embassy in Abuja. Nigeria has an embassy in Algiers.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic		See Algeria–Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic relations Since 1976, Algeria has supported the Polisario Front, a group claiming to represent the population of Western Sahara, which is based among the 90,000 Sahrawi refugees who reside in refugee camps in Algeria. Contending that the Sahrawis have a right to self-determination under the UN Charter, Algeria has provided the Polisario with material, financial, and political support and sanctuary in southwestern Algeria's Tindouf Province. UN involvement in the Western Sahara includes MINURSO, a peacekeeping force, and UNHCR, for refugee assistance and resettlement. Active diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute under the auspices of the Special Representative of the Secretary General are on-going. Although the land border between Morocco and Algeria was closed in the wake of a terrorist attack, the two have worked at improving relations.
Senegal		Algeria has an embassy in Dakar. Senegal has an embassy in Algiers.
South Africa		See Algeria–South Africa relations Algeria has an embassy in Pretoria. South Africa has an embassy in Algiers.
Sudan		See Algeria–Sudan relations Algeria has an embassy in Khartoum. Sudan has an embassy in Algiers.
Tunisia		See Algeria–Tunisia relations Smaller and in a more precarious position vis-à-vis Libya, Tunisia has consistently made efforts to align with Algeria. In the 1970s, Tunisia reversed its position on the Western Sahara so as not to antagonize Algerian authorities. Tunisia was the first nation to sign the Treaty of Fraternity and Concord with Algeria, in 1983. Throughout Algeria's independent history, it has joined in a number of economic ventures with Tunisia, including the transnational pipeline running from Algeria through Tunisia to Italy. In 1987 the departure from power in Tunisia of President Habib Bourguiba and his replacement by the more diplomatic Zine el Abidine Ben Ali brought the two nations closer again. Algeria has an embassy in Tunis and consulates in El Kef and Gafsa. Tunisia has an embassy in Algiers, a consulate-general in Annaba and a consulate in Tébessa.
Zimbabwe		Algeria has an embassy in Harare. Zimbabwe has an embassy in Algiers.

Americas

Country	Formal Relations Began	Notes
Argentina	3 March 1973	Algeria have an embassy in Buenos Aires. Argentina have an embassy in Algiers. Both are members of Group of 77 and of the Group of 24 Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the meeting between both presidents in November 2008 (in French only) Argentine Ministry of Foreign Relations: list of bilateral treaties with Algeria (in Spanish only) On November 18, 2008, the President of Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner made an official visit to Algiers and met her counterpart, the President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Belize	28 November 2001	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 28 November 2001.
Brazil	1962	See Algeria–Brazil relations Algeria has an embassy in Brasília. Brazil has an embassy in Algiers.
Canada	1964	See Algeria–Canada relations Algeria has an embassy in Ottawa and a consulate-general in Montreal. Canada has an embassy in Algiers.
Chile		Algeria has an embassy in Santiago. Chile has an embassy in Algiers.
Colombia		Algeria has an embassy in Bogotá. Colombia has an embassy in Algiers.
Cuba	1962	Cuba and Algeria formed strong diplomatic links due to their historical and ideological proximity. Indeed, despite their geographical distance, the two countries saw themselves as the models of a successful socialist revolution against imperialist forces. Moreover, they more pragmatically believed that to defend themselves from American hostility, they ought to encourage revolutions elsewhere in Latin America and in Africa as to distract the United States and create new allies. Hence, guerrilla hero Ernesto “Che” Guevara visited Algeria twice, from October 1963 to February 1964, and in February 1965, and Cuban President Fidel Castro made a grand official visit to Algeria in 1972. Cuba also sent large quantities of military equipment (two ships, a unity of tanks and 700 soldiers) to Algeria in 1963 during the Sand War with Morocco. Indeed, once again, Algeria was a point of contact between African rebels and potential supporting countries such as Cuba. This relationship was mutually beneficial: Algeria received Argentinian training guerrilleros, a delegation of the Venezuelan National Liberation Front, and even sent armaments to the latter (in an Algerian ship, as to avoid American control) at Cuba's request. Algeria has an embassy in Havana. Cuba has an embassy in Algiers.
Dominica	June 2006	Both countries established diplomatic relations in June 2006.
Guyana	20 September 1976	Both countries established diplomatic relations on September 20, 1976.
Mexico	21 October 1964	See Algeria–Mexico relations Diplomatic relations between Algeria and Mexico were established on 21 October 1964. Algeria has an embassy in Mexico City. Mexico has an embassy Algiers.
Panama	9 February 1973	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 9 February 1973.
Peru		Algeria has an embassy in Lima. Peru has an embassy in Algiers.
United States		See Algeria–United States relations Military cooperation between the United States and Algeria were less sensible than that with the Soviet Union, and Algerian purchases in the early years of independence were mostly restrained to American planes. However, the intermediary role played by Algeria during the Iranian hostage crisis generated the purchase of general military equipment in 1985 through the Foreign Military Sales program. Even though the United States were initially positively inclined to develop strong diplomatic links with the newly independent Algerian state, their relations declined rapidly. Indeed, the Algerian official declarations against American interventionism in Africa and as far as North Vietnam, and their support to left-wing revolutionary groups against American-supported regimes (notably in Angola, but also in Latin America through their close connections with Cuba) increased the hostility against Algeria in American opinion. The United States feared that Algeria was more favorable to the communist bloc and risked threatening their interests. Moreover, the Algerians resented the American failure to deliver the kind of assistance they requested: although the PL-480 food program provided food to millions of Algerians, the government sought to develop its economy through wider and long-term industrial programs. As Foreign Affairs Minister Bouteflika stated in 1965, “The US gives us bread; what we need is work. We need factories that create things and give work to our people”. However, despite the break of diplomatic relations with the United States in 1967 following the Six-Day War, their economic exchanges did not stop. Indeed, the United States had nearly replaced France as Algeria's first trade partner by the beginning of the 1970s. In July 2001, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika became the first Algerian President to visit the White House since 1985. This visit, followed by a second meeting in November 2001, a meeting in New York in September 2003, and President Bouteflika's participation at the June 2004 G8 Sea Island Summit, is indicative of the growing relationship between the United States and Algeria. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, contacts in key areas of mutual concern, including law enforcement and counter-terrorism cooperation, have intensified. Algeria publicly condemned the terrorist attacks on the United States and has been strongly supportive of the international war against terrorism. The United States and Algeria consult closely on key international and regional issues. The pace and scope of senior-level visits has accelerated. In April 2006, then-Foreign Minister Bedjaoui met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Algeria has an embassy in Washington, D.C. and a consulate-general in New York City. United States has an embassy in Algiers.
Uruguay		Algeria is accredited to Uruguay from its embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Uruguay is accredited to Algeria from its embassy in Paris, France.
Venezuela		Algeria has an embassy in Caracas. Venezuela has an embassy in Algiers.

Asia

Country	Formal Relations Began	Notes
Armenia	30 December 1992	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 30 December 1992.
Azerbaijan		Algeria has an embassy in Baku. Azerbaijan has an embassy in Algiers.
Bangladesh		See Algeria–Bangladesh relations Algeria has an embassy in Dhaka. Bangladesh has an embassy in Algiers.
China		See Algeria–China relations Algeria has an embassy in Beijing. China has an embassy in Algiers.
Georgia	27 May 1993	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 27 May 1993. Algeria is accredited to Georgia from its embassy in Ankara, Turkey. Georgia is accredited to Algeria from its embassy in Madrid, Spain.
India		See Algeria–India relations Algeria has an embassy in New Delhi. India has an embassy in Algiers.
Indonesia		See Algeria–Indonesia relations Algeria has an embassy in Jakarta. Indonesia has an embassy in Algiers.
Iran		See Algeria–Iran relations Algeria has an embassy in Tehran. Iran has an embassy in Algiers.
Israel		See Algeria–Israel relations Algeria has never had official diplomatic relations with Israel. In the mid 90s, while Israel and north African states slowly started diplomatic relations, Algeria remained one of the last countries to consider such a move. It was only when Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak met Algerian President Abdalziz Bouteflika at the funeral of Moroccan King Hassan ll on July 25, 1999 that comments about rapprochement were made.
Japan		See Algeria–Japan relations The Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) opened a representative office in Tokyo in 1958. Japan established official diplomatic relations with Algeria upon Algerian independence in 1962. A Japanese embassy was opened in Algiers in 1964, and an Algerian embassy was opened in Tokyo the same year. Japan has extended extensive technological assistance to Algeria and cultural exchange programs are numerous Algeria has an embassy in Tokyo. Japan has an embassy in Algiers.
Jordan		Algeria has an embassy in Amman. Jordan has an embassy in Algiers.
Kuwait		Algeria has an embassy in Kuwait City. Kuwait has an embassy in Algiers.
Lebanon		Algeria has an embassy in Beirut. Lebanon has an embassy in Algiers.
Malaysia		See Algeria–Malaysia relations Algeria has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia has an embassy in Algiers.
Maldives	8 March 1988	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 8 March 1988.
Pakistan		See Algeria-Pakistan relations Algeria enjoys friendly relations with Pakistan, which offered support during Algeria's struggle for independence. Pakistan was among the first nations to recognize the "Provisional Government of the Republic of Algeria" in exile on 19 September 1958, and facilitating the opening of an official mission in Karachi (Pakistan). Algeria has an embassy in Islamabad. Pakistan has an embassy in Algiers.
Palestine		See Algeria-Palestine relations Algeria has been a strong proponent of the rights of the Palestinian people, calling publicly for an end to violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Qatar		See Algeria–Qatar relations Algeria has an embassy in Doha. Qatar has an embassy in Algiers.
Saudi Arabia		See Algeria–Saudi Arabia relations Algeria has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate-general in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Algiers.
Singapore		Algeria and Singapore enjoy close relations in both economic and political areas. The two governments have also conducted exchanges to boost cooperation between both nations.
South Korea	15 January 1990	The diplomatic relations were established between Algeria and South Korea began on 15 January 1990. Algeria has an embassy in Seoul. South Korea has an embassy in Algiers.
Turkey		See Algeria–Turkey relations Algeria has an embassy in Ankara and a general consulate in Istanbul Turkey has an embassy in Algiers. Both countries are full members of the Union for the Mediterranean. The Turkish embassy in Algeria estimates that around 600,000 to 2,000,000 of Algerian people are of Turkish descent.
United Arab Emirates		See Algeria–United Arab Emirates relations Algeria has an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai. UAE has an embassy in Algiers.
Uzbekistan	30 June 1992	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 30 June 1992. Algeria has an embassy in Tashkent.
Vietnam	1962	See Algeria–Vietnam relations Algeria has an embassy in Hanoi. Vietnam has an embassy in Algiers.

Europe

Country	Formal Relations Began	Notes
Austria		Algeria has an embassy in Vienna. Austria has an embassy in Algiers.
Belgium		Algeria has an embassy in Brussels. Belgium has an embassy in Algiers.
Bulgaria	1964	Algeria has an embassy in Sofia. Bulgaria has an embassy in Algiers. Both are members of the Union for the Mediterranean Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Bulgaria (in French only)
Cyprus		See Algeria–Cyprus relations Cyprus and Algeria have concluded various agreements. For example, in November 1997, Algeria and Cyprus agreed on a framework for maritime exchanges between the two countries, lifting obstacles on the free movement of ships and offering preferential treatment at the ports in both countries. In December 1999 Algeria and Cyprus signed an air transport agreement to introduce a legal framework governing air routes between Algeria and Cyprus. In July 2000, Algerian news agency APS signed a cooperation agreement with the Cypriot news agency that covers exchange of English news items and photographs. In December 2001, the Algerian firm Sonatrach and Cyprus oil company Medex Petroleum signed an exploration deal covering the north of Bordj Omar Idriss in the Illizi basin in south-eastern Algeria. Cyprus is considering Algeria as a potential partner to assist with extracting untapped oil and gas from the island's exclusive economic zone. Other partners being considered are Libya, Russian and Algeria – full details of the negotiations have not yet been released to the public domain.
Denmark		Denmark has an embassy in Algiers. Algeria has an embassy in Copenhagen.
France		See Algeria–France relations In the early 1990s, nearly 20 percent of all Algerian exports and imports were destined for or originated from France. More than 1 million Algerians resided in France and there were numerous francophones in Algeria, creating a tremendous cultural overlap. French remained the language of instruction in most schools and the language used in more than two-thirds of all newspapers and periodicals and on numerous television programs. Algeria and France share a cultural background that transcends diplomatic maneuvers and has persisted throughout periods of "disenchantment" and strained relations. Over time, however, the arabization of Algeria and the increasing polarization of society between the francophone elite and the Arab masses have mobilized anti-French sentiment. Support for the arabization of Algerian society—including the elimination of French as the second national language and emphasis on an arabized education curriculum—and the recent success of the FIS indicate a growing fervor in Algeria for asserting an independent national identity. Such an identity emphasizes its Arab and Islamic cultural tradition rather than its French colonial past. However, France's support for the military regime that assumed power in early 1992 indicates that the cooperative relations between the two countries remain strong. Algeria has an embassy in Paris and several consulates-general throughout the country. France has an embassy in Algiers and consulates-general in Annaba and Oran.
Germany		Algeria has an embassy in Berlin and a consulate-general in Frankfurt. Germany has an embassy in Algiers.
Greece		See Algeria–Greece relations Relations between the two countries have been traditionally friendly since Algeria's first years of independence. Both countries are members of the Union for the Mediterranean. Greece was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Algeria after its independence in 1962, by upgrading the then Greek Consulate General in Algiers to an embassy in 1963. As of 2009, the two countries had in place three bilateral agreements: Agreement on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation (1982). Agreement on Educational Cooperation (1988). Agreement on Mutual Protection and Promotion of Investments (2000). The Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Greece in February 2001, returning a previous visit paid by the Foreign Minister of Greece to Algeria. In 2003, Greek [National] Defence Minister Ioannos Papandoniou visited Algeria to discuss ways to consolidate military cooperation between Algeria and Greece. Since 2000, Algeria has supplied Greece with natural gas by virtue of a long-term Agreement between the two countries. The liquefied natural gas is transported by special vessels before eventually reaching the appropriate plant located in Megara, Attica. The exports of Algerian products to Greece amounted to $89 million in 2001, including mainly oil and oil derivatives, natural gas, inorganic chemicals, iron and steel. In the same year, Greek exports to Algeria amounted to $50.78 million, consisting mainly of cereals and related derivatives, tobacco products, pharmaceuticals, medical and non-ferrous minerals. In 2007, Algeria was ranked 6th among Greece's Arab trade partners. Algeria has an embassy in Athens. Greece has an embassy in Algiers.
Holy See		See Algeria–Holy See relations Algeria is accredited to the Holy See from its Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Holy See has an apostolic nunciature in Algiers.
Italy		See Algeria–Italy relations Two countries have a strong connection, as northern part of Algeria's today was formerly territory of the Roman Empire which was originally from modern-day Italy. Italy and Algeria's relations is viewed as important for stability in the region. Algeria has an embassy in Rome and a consulate-general in Milan. Italy has an embassy in Algiers. Both nations are members of the Union for the Mediterranean. Italy is also Algeria's top commercial partner, with an exchange worth 8.67 billion dollars and a volume of imports of 4.41 billion, or 17.24% of global Algerian exports.
Montenegro	24 September 2007	Both countries established diplomatic relations on 24 September 2007.
Netherlands		Algeria has an embassy in The Hague. The Netherlands has an embassy in Algiers.
Poland		See Algeria–Poland relations Algeria has an embassy in Warsaw. Poland has an embassy in Algiers.
Portugal		Algeria has an embassy in Lisbon. Portugal has an embassy in Algiers.
Romania		Algeria has an embassy in Bucharest. Romania has an embassy in Algiers. Both are members of the Union for the Mediterranean Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: information about relations with Romania (in French only)
Russia		See Algeria–Russia relations Algeria and Russia have had a strong military cooperation since the Algerian independence, as Algiers turned towards the USSR for purchasing armaments. Indeed, from 1962 to 1989, Algeria spent approximately 11 billion dollars for Soviet weapons: planes (MiG-21, MiG-23 et Su-24), tanks (T-55 et T-72), armored vehicles, several ships (including submarines), light weapons and ammunition. Algeria has an Embassy in Moscow. Russia has an Embassy in Algiers and a consulate in Annaba.
Serbia	1962	See Algeria–Serbia relations Algeria and Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia) formed a strong diplomatic relation shortly after the Algerian independence, marked by economic, military but also ideological cooperation. Indeed, the Yugoslavian economic system constituted a model for the Algerian-style autogestion experimented in the early Ben Bella years. Henceforth, the Yugoslavian government sent technical advisers and agricultural material to Algeria. Moreover, Yugoslavia and Algeria shared similar views on international matters, such as the necessity for the extension of the Non-Aligned Movement. Indeed, Tito saw in Algeria a way to legitimate the possibility of diversity in socialism, rather than the imposed and monolithic Soviet-model. Their alliance was also geopolitically strategic: Algeria constituted a gate into the African and Arab worlds for Yugoslavia, who intended to create stronger links with this continent. Therefore, while Yugoslavia benefited from Algerian close relations with African countries, Algeria could use Yugoslavian greater military and logistical resources to pursue its program of exporting revolution in the continent. Algeria has an embassy in Belgrade. Serbia has an embassy in Algiers. Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about bilateral relations with Algeria
Spain		See Algeria–Spain relations Algeria has an embassy in Madrid and consulates-general in Alicante and Barcelona. Spain has an embassy in Algiers and a consulate-general in Oran.
Sweden		Algeria has an embassy in Stockholm. Sweden has an embassy in Algiers.
Switzerland		Algeria has an embassy in Bern and a consulate-general in Geneva. Switzerland has an embassy in Algiers.
Ukraine	1993	See Algeria–Ukraine relations Algeria recognized Ukraine's independence in 1992. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established in 1993. Algeria has an embassy in Kiev. Ukraine has an embassy in Algiers.
United Kingdom		Algeria has an embassy in London. United Kingdom has an embassy in Algiers.

Oceania

Country	Formal Relations Began	Notes
Australia		See Algeria–Australia relations Algeria has an embassy in Canberra. Australia is accredited to Algeria from its embassy in Paris, France.
New Zealand		Algeria is accredited to New Zealand from its embassy in Canberra, Australia. New Zealand is accredited to Algeria from its embassy in Cairo, Egypt.

See also

• List of diplomatic missions in Algeria
• List of diplomatic missions of Algeria
• Visa requirements for Algerian citizens

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.

 This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.