“Algeria is a reliable partner of absolute strategic importance”. The prime minister said, Giorgia Meloni, during the press conference at the end of the around, in Algiers, with the President of the Algerian Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune. "I thank the president, the prime minister, and the entire government for this extraordinary welcome in this visit which, it is no coincidence, is the first bilateral mission in North Africa that the government has wanted to undertake". “Italy intends to create a partnership with Algeria that will allow both to fuel growth and development prospects, with a view to building bridges between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean and contributing to the stabilization of a strategic Region for the Italy and Europe” he continued.
Algeria and Italy have signed an agreement for the study and construction of the gas pipeline Galsi, which will carry not only gas, but also green hydrogen and electricity, Tebboune said. The Algerian head of state has indicated that the infrastructure will be used to transport the gas to Italy and then to Europe. The Galsi project (Gas pipeline Algeria Sardinia Italy) is an underwater pipeline of 284 kilometers with a maximum depth of 2.880 meters which should connect the Algerian port of Koudiet Draouche, in the north-east of the country, to that of Porto Botte, in south-western Sardinia. From here, an onshore section should start up to Olbia, crossing the whole of Sardinia. Finally, another submarine pipeline is expected to depart from Olbia to the Tuscan town of Piombino, where it will be connected to the Italian national network.
Meloni underlined that Algeria is “our main gas supplier” and today “they have been signed two agreements between Eni and Sonatrach: an agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, therefore for sustainable development, and the other to achieve an increase in energy exports from Algeria to Italy and potentially to the EU, also studying the creation of a new hydrogen pipeline. In short, a mix mechanism that we identify as a possible solution to the current energy crisis”.
Meloni then spoke of the visit to the garden dedicated to Enrico Mattei: “I was happy to visit a garden dedicated to Enrico Mattei. We have this project that we give ourselves as a legislative horizon, namely the Mattei plan: the ability, in a difficult moment due to the energy crisis, to make Italy the gateway, the fundamental hub for energy distribution ” also in Europe.
The relationship between Italy and Algeria is strong and trade has reached $20 billion in 2022, said the president of Algeria. "The visit falls on the 20th anniversary of the signing of the friendship treaty", highlighted the Algerian head of state. Italy and Algeria have identical positions on most international issues, including the conduct of elections in Libya. During the meeting "we also discussed the conflicts that have shaken international security, in particular the food crisis in Africa," added Tebboune. Regarding the situation in Mali, the Algerian head of state said: "We support all legal positions in Mali and the efforts of the United Nations." On the issue of Western Sahara, Tebboune welcomed "Italy's position, which supports the efforts of the United Nations special envoy and the right of the Saharawi people to choose their own destiny". On the Middle East peace process, Tebboune said: "We have agreed to oppose all colonial actions in the West Bank."
The President Meloni e Tebboune, signed a joint declaration at the end of the tête-à-tête and the enlarged talks. It aims to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighborhood between Italy and Algeria (January 27, 2003) and underline the excellence of relations between the two countries, as well as the common will to further strengthen them, in the political field economic and cultural.
This morning, Meloni visited the garden named after the Italian entrepreneur Enrico Mattei, in the heart of the Algerian capital, inaugurated in November 2021 by the head of state, Sergio Mattarella. With her also the president of Confindustria Carlo Bonomi, the managing director of Eni Claudio Descalzi and the ambassador Giovanni Pugliese. Meloni then visited the "Bastion 23", a fortress-museum directly overlooking the Mediterranean. This is the first experience of recovery of a historic complex returned to the public completed in Algeria since independence. The initiative, which has become a "model" for the conservation of Algerian heritage and collaboration in the field of archeology and restoration between Italy and Algeria, was financed with funds (through the bilateral channel) of the Italian Cooperation in 1994. The structure it is one of the most important historical monuments of Algiers and represents, moreover, one of the last testimonies attesting the extension of the Kasbah towards the sea before the arrival of the French presence.
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