Algeria adheres to the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC): a strategic diplomatic turning point
Algeria officially joined the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), this Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, on the sidelines of the 58th meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers. This membership, carried by Minister Ahmed Attaf, embodies a new Algerian diplomatic orientation to a region in full economic effervescence.
Mandated by the President of the Republic, Attaf continues a tour in Southeast Asia to tighten links with partners deemed strategic. After Singapore, he went to Malaysia where he met several officials, including the secretary general of the ASEAN. Objective displayed: Entering Algeria in a dynamic of cooperation with a block that has become essential on the world scene.
The Algerian Minister praised an “important step” in the history of relations between Algeria and the countries of the Asean, stressing the convergence of values between the two parties: respect for sovereignty, solidarity, non-interference. He also expressed Algiers’s desire to actively get involved in regional initiatives, especially in the economic, energy and security fields. In the field, this membership already opens up concrete perspectives. The Malaysian group Lion signed an agreement for a colossal investment of $ 8 billion in Algeria last month. The project, which should create more than 10,000 jobs, symbolizes this new breath that Algiers wants to instill in its external relations, with Asia as an engine of a renewed partnership.
By joining the TAC, Algeria is not content to diversify its diplomatic alliances – it is repositioned in a major geopolitical space, between Africa and Asia. This choice illustrates a desire for rupture with traditional circuits, often dominated by Western powers. It is also part of a wider strategy of southern south-south influence, where Algeria seeks to play a pivotal role, carried by its history, its resources, and an increasingly proactive diplomacy. This step towards ASEAN, if confirmed over time, could offer the country a new room for maneuver in the face of the economic and political challenges that await it.
