International Analytical Information Gateway – Eurasia Diary held an interview with Charge d'affaires of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria to Azerbaijan Abbes Benmoussat. During the interview, Abbes Benmoussat answered various questions on the  subjects about  politics, economy and football as well as evaluated the relations between Algeria and Azerbaijan.

 Eurasia Diary: Mr. Ambassador, the relationship between Azerbaijan and Algeria has been existed since the Soviet Union time. How do you evaluate the current relations between the two countries?

 Abbes Benmoussat:First of all, thank you for inviting me. The relations between Azerbaijan and Algerian has been existing for a long time.  We are among the first countries that recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991. Nowadays we are going to establish strong and successful cooperation between  two countries. Therefore we opened our embassy in Azerbaijan in 2015 and also Azerbaijan opened its embassy in Algeria on July 2016. Our country wants to work promptly in order to establish the first legal base of this cooperation between the countries. This cooperation can  include a number of agreements and protocols in different fields. We have already sent  many Azerbaijani companies to Algeria in order to work there. We are also trying to bring more tourists to Azerbaijan .We brought a group of almost 50 people  to Azerbaijan in 2015 and this year this figure has been increased up to  150 people  who visited Azerbaijan. Consequently we try to make the cooperation more powerful between the two countries.

Eurasia Diary: Long distance between the countries may have a  negative impact on the relations between countries. In your opinion how can it affect the development of tourism?

Abbes Benmoussat:In my point of view, there are two main obstacles that can negatively influence the development of tourism industry between two countries. The first obstacle is that  when the distance between two countries is too long, people do not wish to pay for very expensive tickets.  The second obstacle is a language barrier. Year by year, we aim  to make Azerbaijan much closer to Algeria. Last year we thought about  establishment of new flights from Algeria to Azerbaijan. This flight can be from Algeria to Iran and then to Azerbaijan or it can be via  Turkey to Azerbaijan. We are working on this issue in order to find the best solution. I hope this project can be realized in the next year.

Eurasia Diary: As we know Algeria presents one of the largest oil and gas opportunities in Africa. How do you see the relations between Azerbaijan and Algeria in energy and economic fields?

Abbes Benmoussat: During the Soviet Union time  many Algerian engineers came to Azerbaijan in order to study in one of the most prestigious  institutes of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University). So our cooperation in this field dates back since long time before. In the field of cooperation I can say that now we reduce the production of oil in order to make the oil prices go up. We cooperate with Azerbaijan very closely in this field. For example, last weeks Azerbaijan and Algeria agreed to  reduce  oil production to make the oil prices to go up again.

Eurasia Diary: What can you say about the role of Algeria in the international politics at the moment?

Abbes Benmoussat: When Algeria got its independence in 1962 we paved the way for establishment of close cooperation between the countries of the third world. In the third world we have  the South and Central America, all Africa and Asia. In this area the Islamic world is also included. So we are working to help the countries of the third world  to get their political independence, as well as to help them to form their own opinion and decisions. This is our policy. We have been working  on this issue since long time before and consequently we helped many countries in Africa and South America to get their independence.  Algeria’s  foreign policy aims to bring independence to many countries in the world. We want to bring  independence to  all countries, which are occupied by other powerful countries. As I mentioned above this is the main principle of our country.

Eurasia Diary: What is the official position of Algeria regarding one of the most serious conflicts in the South Caucasus, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict? 

Abbes Benmoussat: Nagorno-Karabakh and territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh are occupied by Armenia. We are against of any occupation of one country by another. This is our principle. We are working in order to help Azerbaijan. We are members of many international organizations such United Nations Organization, Islamic Organization and so on. Algeria vetoed the resolution against Azerbaijan. We think  that Azerbaijan has the right to get back these territories.

Eurasia Diary:As we know, a number of the most famous footballers in the world such as  Zidane, Benzema, Nasri, Mahrez and other are from Algeria. In general, how do you see the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Algeria in this field?

Abbes Benmoussat:As you know Algeria gets 60 good players around the world not only from Europe but also from African and Arabic countries too. We have professionals in this field. There are two ways to establish the cooperation in this field.  The first one is to establish anofficial cooperation among the professional football federations. The second way is a private sector. We can invite or bring here  some coaches  and make the connection directly with the teams that they need to be promoted. For example, if team needs some coaches and players we can provide it. We are here to help and make a good cooperation between Azerbaijan and Algeria.

by Ayaz Mirzayev