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Al-Ahram Weekly 14 - 20 October 1999 Issue No. 451 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 14 - 20 October 1999 Issue No. 451
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Books Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Adieu Paris, hello Washington
By Nasr El-QaffasSince his election in April, Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika has sought to improve his country's ties with the United States in order to overcome its economic problems. Building strong economic relations with Washington would help him to achieve his programme, which is based on three major pillars: national reconciliation at home, reviving the stalled Algerian economy and restoring what Bouteflika has himself described as "Algeria's regional and international status."
Years of bloody violence following the Algerian army's intervention to cancel the results of the first round of parliamentary elections in 1992, which were clearly won by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), have meant a halt to economic development in Algeria. Deteriorating oil prices in recent years have further weakened the country's economy and have led to increased unemployment among the country's youthful population. Unofficial figures estimate that nearly 30 per cent of Algerian youth are unemployed.
Faced with this situation, one of Bouteflika's first statements shortly after taking office was that he would work on building better ties with the United States. "I am ready for cooperation even to the extent of repeating the Marshall Plan," he said, which the United States initiated to rebuild Europe after World War II.
For its part, the United States has warmly received the Algerian president's overtures. Washington's comments on the results of the controversial presidential elections that brought Bouteflika to power after his six rivals had pulled out at the last minute, were far more reserved than those made by the former colonial power, France. Bouteflika later met US President Bill Clinton without prior arrangement in July, when the two leaders were attending the funeral of the late King Hassan of Morocco. Although the meeting was brief and ceremonial, it was nevertheless significant enough for the process of reviving relations between the two countries to be started.
The first consequence of this process was last month's visit to Algeria by Assistant US Secretary of State Martin Indyk, at the end of which Indyk took pains to announce his country's new stand towards Algeria during a lengthy news conference.
Indyk's statements on what his country would like to see from Algeria seemed to match Bouteflika's public policy statements. The US official said that political reforms aimed at enhancing democracy, expanding the range of participation in economic reforms in order to attract investments and increasing respect for human rights should all provide the necessary solutions for Algeria's economic crisis, adding that Washington looked to Algeria as "a regional force which is able to play a major role" in the Middle East and in the Arab Maghreb. He also pointed out that trade between the two countries already stood at $3 billion and that "we hope to increase that in the future."
Following Indyk's visit to Algeria, newspapers in the country wrote of a US plan aimed at creating an economic bloc among the Arab Maghreb countries, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. According to this plan, the United States would inject $2.5 billion into the economies of the three countries, with the largest share, $1.5 billion, going to Algeria.
However before this golden future can be realised, the three countries will have to settle their differences, particularly those between Algeria and Morocco. Ties were severed between the two neighbours in 1994 after Moroccan authorities accused suspected Algerian militants of carrying out an attack against a hotel in Morocco. Rabat ordered the closure of its border with Algeria, causing tremendous losses to the economies of both countries. And since Bouteflika took office, relations with Morocco have been going through ups and downs and have depended on statements made by the Algerian president concerning allegations that Morocco was providing a refuge for a number of Algerian militants carrying out attacks across the border in Algeria.
Nevertheless, despite these differences the official line expressed by both countries continues to be that they are both interested in improving relations as a first step towards reviving the nearly dead Arab Moroccan Union, which also includes Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia.
The United States has, meanwhile, aimed at overcoming these differences by emphasising the economic gains to be made by improving the countries' political relations. The American-Maghreb Partnership Council, which includes businessmen from the United States, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, held its first meeting in Tunis recently, followed by a second meeting in Rabat. The same council is expected to convene for a third time in Algeria by the end of November, and a declaration of principles for economic integration could be announced at the end of this meeting.
The latest sign of improvement in ties between Algeria and the United States was a visit earlier this month to Algiers by Daniel Murphy, commander of the US Navy's Sixth Fleet. He told reporters that his visit aimed at strengthening US-Algerian ties and at looking into prospects for future military cooperation. Shortly after the visit, Washington promised investment in Algeria worth $350 million, and the World Bank also appeared more receptive to Algeria's loan requests. A US delegation is expected to visit Algiers in November to advise the government on developing its banking and taxation systems. The Americans have also presented 50 projects for joint cooperation between Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, with the aim of creating a free-trade zone in the Maghreb by the year 2003.
Like most leaders in the developing world, Algerian President Bouteflika has apparently learned the post-Cold War lesson that opening channels with the world's sole remaining superpower seems to be the only way for reintegration into international markets to take place. And the Americans for their part seem to be interested in gaining a foothold in an region that previously has been dominated solely by France.
