Algeria’s Ambassador to Kenya H.E Salah Francis El Hamdi candidly addresses Algeria’s economy, governance, diplomacy and the various aspects of ties with Kenya in an exclusive interview with Dennis Muritu.
At the economic level, Algeria is following the implementation of the third five-year development plan (2015-2019) with a $262.5 billion budget. The plan, Mr El Hamdi says, is devoted to governance, human development and public productive enterprises.
Since the beginning of the collapse of the price of oil, Algeria does not depend only on oil any more to improve its economic performance but on a combination of sectors, including agriculture.
“The economic rate remains positive. It will reach 3.5% this year and 3.9% in 2017. The growth is particularly drawn by the industrial and the agricultural sectors, in which the Government is hoping to improve the exports,” Mr El Hamdi says.
Algeria, Mr Hamdi says, is one of the few African countries that have reached all the Millennium Development Goals, even before the deadline of the 2015.
Algeria has also adopted the revision of the Constitution, consequently embracing national reconciliation, strengthening of the role of the opposition in Parliament and decriminalization of press offenses.
Since the Constitution of 1989, the political field has been open by the consecration of the multiparty system. Several political parties have been created and have taken part in various political events like presidential, legislative and local elections. The successive Algerian governments have always integrated ministers from the opposition in the context of the vision of the president of the Republic to constitute national unity governments. The two chambers of the Algerian Parliament (National Popular Assembly and the council of the nation), Mr El Hamdi says, include members of political parties from the Opposition.
Crisis and conflict in Africa
Algeria continues to play a leadership role in the international mediation in order to reach a final and lasting solution to the Malian crisis. Efforts have been crowned by the signing on May 19 2015, of the Algiers Declaration where Algeria insisted on the unity and territorial integrity of Mali and called on the international community to support the warring country’s economic and social development.
Regarding Libya, Algeria is working to achieve a political solution that preserves the unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity and the country’s stability and cohesion of its people.
Algeria is also concerned by the fate of the displaced people in South Sudan and call upon the international community to provide necessary humanitarian assistance to alleviate suffering.
The Ambassador also says that his country is also committed to support the process of rehabilitation of the Somali state and reconciliation, particularly in light of the 2016 vision of the country.
Algeria has suffered for a long time from terrorism and is now contributing with its experience to combat terrorism in Africa and all over the world.
Algeria, the ambassador says, remains faithful to its position that the issue of Western Sahara is a question of decolonization. “Our position is in accordance with the international community consensus and the United Nations doctrine in the field of decolonization,” he says.
“My country also supports the efforts of the UN Secretary General and his special envoy to reach a political solution leading to the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, as required by the relevant security council of the UN resolutions. There is only one way to solve this conflict, which is to hold a free and fair referendum of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara. In this regard, it’s important to bring up the position of AU which is in accordance with UN resolutions,” Mr El Hamdi says.
Ties with Kenya
The relations between Algeria and Kenya, the ambassador says, are excellent. The two countries enjoy many years of fraternal relations anchored on high-level contacts.
Kenya and Algeria’s foreign affairs ministers, Mr El Hamdi says, signed two agreements in 2014 in the areas of political consultation and establishment of a Joint Cooperation Commission. The first meeting of the Joint Cooperation Commission will be held in Nairobi this coming November.
“The highest authorities of both countries base real hope to lay the foundation of bilateral cooperation oriented on economical, technological, educational and development sectors,” says the Ambassador, underlining the State visit of H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta to Algeria in February 2015, at the invitation of H.E Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA, President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.
The visit was an opportunity to evaluate the standing cooperation in a number of areas. The two Heads of State reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the relations and cooperation between Algeria and Kenya in several areas, including holding strategic consultations in the areas of defense, security and combating terrorism and trade, energy and education
“The Kenyan president officially opened the Kenyan embassy in Algiers, inaugurating consequently a new important step in the bilateral relations between the two countries,” says the Envoy.
There is also a complete convergence of positions and policy analysis between the two countries on a wide range of regional and international on issues of common interest. The two countries work in promoting peace, stability and security in their respective regions and in Africa and they regularly reiterate their support for the efforts of the African Union in the search for political solutions to crises and conflicts in Africa.
A high level of bilateral economic and commercial relations is the next challenge the two countries are aiming to attain. “Algeria and Kenya must go now beyond the excellent political relations to explore ways to enhance their economic and commercial ties. This could only be reached if there is a framework which encompasses sectors like energy, agriculture, industry, and investments,” he says.
Both countries are currently harnessing the legal arsenal enabling them to settle their commercial and economic relations. As such, several Algerian businessmen have visited Kenya in the past years in order to seek opportunities to build a platform for an exchange of products and services of both countries. Similarly, Kenyan businessmen have also travelled to Algeria in order to explore opportunities to export to Kenyan products like coffee and tea. The Algerian Chamber of Commerce and her Kenyan counterpart have initiated a memorandum of understanding covering, in particular, the expansion of cooperation between the two institutions.
“Algeria will host an African forum this December on investment and business, thus we look upon the Kenyan government and the private sector to participate in this high level meeting which will involve the entire African continent,” the ambassador says.
On technological cooperation, Ambassador El Hamdi says there is a project to establish cooperation between the Kenyan National Space Secretariat and the Algerian Space Agency, adding that both countries are members of Africa Resource Management Satellite Constellation (ARMC) with Nigeria and South Africa. The cooperation will also encompass areas scientific research.
Oil, gas and energy
A delegation from Algeria visited Kenya in January 2015 in order to explore the opportunities of cooperation and partnership. Both parties agreed to establish a relationship, in particular, in the areas of onshore and offshore exploration and production of hydrocarbons in development of LNG projects and in domestic marketing of petroleum products.
Algeria, which has an experience of more than fifty years, is ready to share its expertise and cooperate with Kenya to promote the oil sector.
Education, science and technology
Algeria offers scholarships to Kenyan students in telecommunications, science and technology, engineering, medicine, management, mathematics and computer science. The number of scholarships offered by Algeria, the ambassador says, has increased in the recent years, reaching more than 20 in year 2016.
Ambassador El Hamdi vows to do his best, working closely with the Kenyan authorities, to intensify and expand the historical relations that exist between Kenya and Algeria.
