Jean Castex will not be in Algiers on Sunday, April 11, as planned. The French Prime Minister was to travel to the Algerian capital of the Franco-Algerian Intergovernmental Committee. The fight against terrorism, trade and research agreements, Sunday’s program was busy, but Covid-19 disrupted the meeting. The Algerian authorities have decided to postpone this visit.
The decision was made within 72 hours of the arrival of Jean Castex. The head of the French government had planned to spend the day on Sunday in Algiers, accompanied by four of his most important ministers. Jean-Yves Le Drian for Foreign Affairs, Gérald Darmanin for Home Affairs, Jean-Michel Blanquer for Education and Bruno Le Maire for Economics. A reduced format due to the Covid-19 epidemic. But not up to Algiers’ eyes.
According to a French source, the Algerian government considered that the delegation was not large enough, the visit too short, not enough given the efforts between the two countries.
This high-level intergovernmental committee has not met since 2017, the 5th edition had already been postponed several times.
Despite Covid-19, Jean Castex had wanted to maintain his journey on Sunday and presented it as a “gesture of friendship” while Emmanuel Macron is engaged in a seaweed reconciliation with Algiers. The meeting was missed, postponed to a date that is still unknown.
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