During his visit to Algiers, the Spanish Prime Minister cemented the warming of relations between his country and Algeria

After several years of diplomatic tension between Spain and Algeria, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Algiers on Monday to meet with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and demonstrate the warming of relations between the two countries.

Relations between Madrid and Algiers are back on track. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared in Algiers on Monday, July 20, his desire to "deepen" ties between his country and Algeria, thus marking a warming of relations after several years of tensions surrounding Western Sahara.

This visit, Pedro Sanchez's first in four years, has "particular importance" for the Spanish government, "because Spain considers Algeria not only as a neighbouring country but also as a strategic partner," he stated during a press conference alongside Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

Accompanied by several senior officials from Spanish energy companies, Pedro Sanchez recalled that since the beginning of 2026, Algeria had been the "first supplier of natural gas" to Spain, connected to Algeria by a gas pipeline called MedGaz.

President Tebboune, for his part, described the meeting with Pedro Sanchez as "fruitful" and "frank," welcoming a visit that signified a "new impetus" between the two countries.

Anger in Algiers in 2022

The Algerian head of state claimed to have discussed with him energy, ways to encourage Spanish investment in Algeria, illegal immigration, and also Western Sahara.

It was this vast desert territory, rich in phosphates and fish-filled waters, a Spanish colony until 1975, that was at the heart of the dispute between Algiers and Madrid.

In 2022, Spain supported the Moroccan plan on Western Sahara, a region largely controlled by Morocco and disputed by Rabat and the Polisario Front separatists, supported by Algeria.

This change of course ended Spain's long-standing neutral stance on the issue. It provoked anger in Algiers, which retaliated by suspending a friendship treaty signed with Madrid in 2002 and restricting trade with Spain by freezing banking operations—a measure with serious economic consequences. Algeria also recalled its ambassador from Madrid.

After this chill, bilateral trade relations had seen a gradual thaw from 2025. The Algerian presidency announced in March that Abdelmadjid Tebboune had decided to reactivate the friendship treaty.