Algeria Accuses World Bank of Plot, Blames Morocco Amid Economic Report Fallout

"The latest World Bank (WB) report on the economic situation in Algeria published on December 22 could very well have gone unnoticed," but "has produced a media-diplomatic-political frenzy," notes the pan-African weekly, pointing out that the Algerian official news agency (APS) has, in two dispatches, accused the World Bank of "going beyond its institutional framework" and denounced "a plot aimed at undermining the stability of the country" through "this kind of negative and harmful reports, based on unattributed indicators and arguments." It also has in its sights the World Bank’s Vice President for the MENA region, Ferid Belhaj, the author of this report, whom it considers as "a close friend of many Moroccan ministers."

Jeune Afrique notes that the APS did not provide any specific facts or documents to support its allegations, which have triggered "a clash between the multilateral institution and Algiers." This "outburst (of the Algerian regime) must be read in the light of the escalation of tensions, observed in recent months, between Algeria and Morocco," estimates the pan-African weekly. "More than the substance of the report, it seems that the context of diplomatic tensions between Algiers and Rabat as well as the nervousness of an Algerian power subject to a tense socio-economic situation have played a full role in triggering this nervous breakdown," it is observed.

"Faced with internal difficulties, Algiers tends to raise the threat of the Moroccan external enemy to maintain control. A reflex that is very difficult to correct. [...] Neither the APS nor the relations between Algeria and the World Bank emerge victorious from this episode," concludes the magazine.