ALGIERS / ISTANBUL

Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf held talks with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares in Algiers on Thursday to discuss ways of developing bilateral relations, in a new sign of improving ties between the two nations since a diplomatic rift in 2022.

A Foreign Ministry statement said the two chief diplomats highlighted growing cooperation between Algeria and Spain, particularly in the energy sector and other economic fields.

Attaf and Albares expressed their aspiration to expand bilateral cooperation to achieve further gains for both countries, the statement said.

According to the statement, the two ministers exchanged views on several regional and international issues of mutual interest, including developments in the Middle East, the Sahel region and in the Mediterranean.

The two-day visit shows that the two countries have overcome their diplomatic rift in 2022, when Algeria withdraw its ambassador from Madrid and suspended economic ties over Spain’s backing for Morocco’s autonomy for the disputed Western Sahara.

The visit marks the second by a senior Spanish official to Algeria after Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska’s trip to Algeria in October 2025.

The Western Sahara issue has been a source of tensions between Algeria and Morocco for some five decades. Morocco proposes extensive autonomy for the Western Sahara region under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a referendum on self-determination, a stance supported by Algeria, which hosts refugees from the region.

*Writing By Khaled Badr in ISTANBUL