Algerian Foreign Ministry: Algeria will respond to France’s breach of 2013 agreement with reciprocal measures
ALGIERS – The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday, that Algeria no longer views the 2013 agreement—regarding the exemption of holders of diplomatic and mission passports from requiring a visa with France—as having any particular benefit and does not express any specific attachment to it.
“Algeria duly notes what can be considered an effective suspension of the 2013 agreement by the French side, without the latter respecting the required legal procedures,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, emphasizing that Algeria “will draw the necessary consequences from this approach and will respond by strictly and rigorously applying the principle of reciprocity, in proportion to the extent of the French side’s failure to fulfill its obligations and commitments.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the Algerian government is following with great astonishment the recent developments in the way the French authorities have handled and spoken about the visa issue in general, and specifically regarding the exemption of holders of diplomatic and service passports from such procedures.
“The Algerian government has noted that the French discourse on this matter appears to be taking a strange and suspicious turn—a turn characterized by the blatant orchestration of media leaks to carefully selected outlets by the French Ministry of the Interior and the General Directorate of the French National Police,” the statement said, adding that, “It is clear that French decisions are now being announced through these unofficial channels, in blatant disregard for established diplomatic norms and in clear violation of the provisions of the 2013 Algerian-French agreement concerning the visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and mission passports.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that, “Contrary to the provisions of Article 8 of the same agreement, Algeria has, to this day, not received any official notification from the French authorities through the only channel recognized in relations between states — the diplomatic channel.” It clarified that the chargé d’affaires at the French Embassy in Algiers, who has been summoned four times by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this matter, confirmed that he has not received any instructions from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Likewise, to this day, he has been unable to provide any response to Algeria’s repeated official requests for clarification regarding the French position on this issue.
In its official statement, the Algerian government confirmed that the French side bears full responsibility for the initial violations of the 2013 agreement concerning the visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and mission passports. Moreover, it firmly rejected the claims and allegations made by the French authorities that Algeria was the first party to breach its obligations under the 2013 agreement, saying it considers such claims to be entirely unfounded and lacking any supporting evidence or basis in fact.
The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that, in addition to these necessary clarifications, the Algerian government takes this opportunity to reaffirm that, with regard to the visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and mission passports, Algeria was never the party that requested or initiated such a measure. The ministry detailed how the agreement was signed only after persistent efforts by the French side, which began following the introduction of the visa system in 1986 for citizens of both countries.
According to the statement, it was France that, unilaterally, proposed exempting holders of diplomatic passports from this requirement — a proposal that was met at the time with a clear and unequivocal rejection. In the years that followed, particularly throughout the 1990s, France renewed this proposal three times, and each time it was met with the same firm refusal from the Algerian side.
The source confirmed that Algeria did not agree to enter into a bilateral agreement exempting holders of diplomatic passports from visa requirements until 2007, when France reintroduced the proposal. Later, in 2013—and once again at France’s initiative—a new agreement was concluded, expanding the exemption to include holders of mission passports and replacing the limited 2007 agreement.
