Algeria has lifted the trade and banking restrictions imposed two years ago on Spain following Madrid’s support for Morocco’s plan for the Sahara – which recognizes Rabat’s sovereignty over the former Spanish colony – and imposes similar measures on France for its recent turn in policy. exterior in the same sense.
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 mean the unblocking as of this Thursday of the restrictive measures imposed by Algiers due to the diplomatic crisis with Spain. in relation to Western Sahara, as reported by EFE.
According to a note sent by the Central Bank to the general directors of the Algerian banks and to which EFE has had access, “the authorized intermediary banks must take into account that 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 received the note with caution. The measure prohibited financing the exchange of goods and services carried out with Spain.
The Algerian Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABEF), which blocked direct debits in 2022, authorized these procedures in January, mandatory for imports, in the poultry sector as a first step in the progressive commercial reactivation, overcoming the diplomatic distance with the nomination of a new ambassador in Madrid at the end of last year.
At the same time as relations with Madrid are resumed, Algiers has entered into another crisis with France since its president, Emmanuel Macron, also showed his support for the Moroccan plan on the former Spanish colony in July as the “only basis” to resolve the conflict.
Then it withdrew its ambassador in Paris and now Algiers has ordered to block direct debits for trade with France starting this Tuesday, a measure similar to the one it will now lift with Spain, according to French diplomat and former ambassador to Algeria Xavier Driencourt.
“We inform you that as of 05/11/2024, import direct debits originating and/or coming from France will no longer be processed by local banks, export operations to France are also affected,” stated a document shared on social networks by the former French ambassador, who held the position twice.
“With Mohamed VI we have decided to write a new book together,” said Macron in a speech before the Moroccan Parliament on October 30. “The present and future of Western Sahara are part of the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,” he added.
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