ALGIERS – Tuesday, 17 October 2023 (APS) – Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad Ahmed Attaf stressed Tuesday, in Algiers, the underlying dialogue values behind the cooperation and consultation mechanism between the African countries and Nordic countries, underlining the calls of the President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune for the promotion of these values as the “best instruments for the consolidation of solidarity, cooperation and cohesion in the face of current challenges.”
Attaf started his opening speech of the 20th Nordic-African Foreign Ministers Meeting, held at the International Centre of Conferences (CIC) Abdelatif-Rahal, by welcoming Algeria’s guests, to whom he transmitted the greetings of the President Tebboune and his wishes of success to the works of the meeting, praising the meeting on cooperation and consultation mechanism which “proved, over the years, to be efficient and its effectiveness in serving cooperation relations between our countries.”
He pointed out that “as it is prone to divisions, clashes and conflicts, the world needs this mechanism which is based on the values of dialogue, exchange of views and ideas that the President of the Republic has always defended by calling for their promotion as the best instruments for the consolidation of solidarity, cooperation and cohesion in the face of current challenges, whether they are local, regional or international.”
Attaf explained that “the secret behind the privileged relation between the African and Nordic countries is in our common commitment to the values, principles and ideals on which the UN is based, notably the promotion of the friendship relations between the nations as part of sovereign equality, total respect and shared trust, as well as to make the international law prevail in the interaction and exchange between the States and the enshrinement of the peoples’ right to self-determination as well as the contribution to the settlement of the crises and conflicts peacefully.”
Algerian Foreign minister seized the opportunity to underline and welcome “the honorable historical positions of Nordic countries which defended the right of the oppressed African people to self-determination and which showed their solidarity with the liberation movements in Africa to put an end to the colonial yoke, discrimination and foreign occupation of territories.”
He reffered to the tragic situation that the Palestinian people are experiencing in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the besieged strip of Gaza, condemning the bombings, visibly and publicly, flouting the humanitarian rules and the international laws.”
In this regard, he reaffirmed Algeria’s full solidarity with the Palestinian brothers, reiterating his call to the international community for an urgent surge of support in favor of the oppressed and persecuted people, to put an end to this aggression and to work for the relaunch of the peace process that enables the Palestinian people to establish their independent State within the borders of 1967 with al-Quds as capital.”