Algeria has lifted trade and banking restrictions imposed two years ago on Spain following Madrid’s support for the Moroccan plan for the Sahara – which recognizes Rabat’s sovereignty over the former Spanish colony – and is imposing similar measures to France for its recent change in foreign policy. same meaning.
The Algerian Central Bank on Wednesday ordered banking entities to “operate in accordance with the regulations” in force in foreign trade with Spain, which will lead to the unblocking as of this Thursday of the restrictive measures imposed by Algiers due to the diplomatic crisis with Spain. regarding Western Sahara, as reported by EFE.
According to a note addressed by the Central Bank to the general directors of Algerian banks and to which EFE had access, “approved intermediary banks must take into account the fact that automatic direct debit operations for foreign trade operations to and from Spain must be processed in accordance with current exchange regulations.
The generic wording of the statement does not specify the restrictions imposed in 2022, so some sources consulted in the banking sector welcomed the note with caution. The measure prohibited the financing of exchanges of goods and services carried out with Spain.
The Algerian Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABEF), which blocked automatic debits in 2022, authorized in January these procedures, obligatory for imports, in the poultry sector as a first step in the gradual commercial reactivation, overcoming diplomatic distance with the appointment of a new ambassador in Madrid at the end of last year.
Even as relations with Madrid resume, Algiers has entered a new crisis with France since its president, Emmanuel Macron, also showed in July his support for the Moroccan plan on the former Spanish colony as the “only basis” to resolve the conflict. conflict.
Then it withdrew its ambassador in Paris and Algiers ordered the blocking of automatic debits for commercial exchanges with France from this Tuesday, a measure similar to that which it will now lift with Spain, according to the French diplomat and former ambassador to Algeria Xavier Driencourt.
“We inform you that from 05/11/2024, import direct debits from and/or from France will no longer be processed by local banks, export operations to France are also affected”, specifies a document shared on social networks by the former French ambassador, who held this position twice.
“With Mohamed VI, we decided to write a new book together,” Macron said in a speech to the Moroccan Parliament on October 30. “The present and future of Western Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,” he added.
