Pedro Sanchez heads to Algeria to restore Spain‑Algeria ties over Western Sahara

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is making his first official visit to Algeria in almost six years, arriving in Algiers on 20 July to meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune with a ministerial delegation. The trip aims to repair relations after a diplomatic break that began in March 2022 when Madrid shifted its position on the Western Sahara, endorsing Morocco’s autonomy plan.

Algeria responded by suspending the 1988 friendship treaty and imposing trade restrictions that cost Spanish companies about €3.2 billion. The visit follows a recent trip by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and comes as Spain’s parliament debates a bill to grant Spanish nationality to Sahrawis born before August 1977. Re‑establishing ties could reactivate the treaty and stabilise energy cooperation, notably Algerian gas supplies to Spain.