Rome — Italy and Algeria agreed to co-operate to fight terrorism and control migration during an intergovernmental meeting in Rome on Wednesday, while companies signed deals in sectors including energy and telecommunications.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune at the 17th-century Villa Doria Pamphili, after a trip to Algiers by foreign minister Antonio Tajani in March.
“Our bilateral relations have reached a level of intensity and solidity that had never been achieved before,” Meloni said after the meeting.
Algeria is Italy’s leading trading partner in Africa, with trade worth almost €14bn while Italian investments there amount to €8.5bn, Meloni’s government said.
“The agreements signed open broad horizons for a model strategic partnership that reflects the depth of our relations,” Tebboune said.
A total of 13 agreements have been signed between the governments of Italy and Algeria, including one on fighting terrorism and its financing. It was not specified which threats were the focus.
The two nations have also agreed on a plan to co-ordinate the search and rescue operations for migrants who attempt the dangerous sea crossing from North Africa to Europe. Meloni’s right-wing government was elected in 2022 on a mandate to curb migrant arrivals.
Business ties
On the business side, Italian energy group Eni signed a $1.3bn production sharing contract with oil and gas company Sonatrach this month to explore and develop hydrocarbons in Algeria.
The two companies signed an additional agreement to strengthen their co-operation on the sidelines of the intergovernmental meeting.
“We are very satisfied with the collaboration between Eni and its counterpart Sonatrach, which will become even stronger,” Meloni said.
Eni buys gas from Sonatrach under a long-term contract that has made the North African country a key fuel supplier for Italy after Rome severed ties with Russia’s Gazprom after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
A separate deal will involve submarine cable company Sparkle, a unit of Telecom Italia (TIM), which is set to be sold to a consortium led by Italy’s Treasury later this year.
Sparkle will sign a preliminary agreement with Algerie Telecom for a new subsea cable connecting the two countries.
“Algeria is a strategic partner, and we are working hard to make this partnership ever broader, stronger and more diversified,” foreign minister Tajani said in a speech at a business forum with more than 400 companies from the two nations.
Reuters
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