Algeria Woos US Energy Giants in Geopolitical Gambit over Western Sahara

The information is reported by the American agency Bloomberg, which specifies that the two parties have already validated the essential fundamental technical aspects and that only a few commercial details remain to be settled before the final conclusion of the agreement. According to analysts, this approach reflects Algeria’s desire to use the energy card as a means of political pressure in the Sahara conflict. But Washington is unlikely to go back on its position on this issue, despite these Algerian maneuvers. A position that has not changed since December 2020 when President Donald Trump recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over this territory.

Morocco is a strategic partner of the United States in the MENA region. The two countries maintain excellent bilateral relations and continue to strengthen their cooperation in the fields of security, defense, development and investment. "Algeria’s use of these two agreements reflects the lack of other alternatives, which could have a negative impact on its relations with some of its traditional allies, foremost among them Russia," analyzes for Hespress Saïd Bouchakouk, a researcher specializing in the Sahara file, specifying that these initiatives "will not change the constants of the American position in favor of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara, and support for the autonomy initiative as a realistic and practical solution framework."

For his part, Abdelouahab El Kain, president of the Africa Watch organization, noted that the Algerian government is accelerating the signing of strategic agreements with American energy companies to compensate for its diplomatic and political failures in Europe and Africa. In a statement to Hespress, he explained that "the growing political crises between Algeria and Spain and then France, against the backdrop of the strengthening of their bilateral relations with the Kingdom of Morocco, accompanied by explicit support for Morocco’s position and the recognition of the justice and legitimacy of its claims of sovereignty over its southern provinces, have placed Algeria in a situation of growing diplomatic isolation," stressing that "European countries now consider the autonomy proposal as a just solution and in line with the requirements of international law."

By signing these energy agreements with American companies, "Algeria is seeking to infiltrate the decision-making circles of Washington in order to create an opinion opposed to the official American position supporting the Moroccanness of the Sahara," confirms the analyst. According to him, this attempt by Algeria "to use the energy card as a means of political pressure" will have only a limited effect, "because the American commitment to Morocco goes beyond the simple recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara, and encompasses security, military and economic cooperation, as well as support for Morocco’s major projects, including the Atlantic-African initiative which is a promising alternative to develop trade and strengthen continental integration."