Algiers, 6 December 2024 (SPS) - The Algerian Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, reaffirmed on Thursday, in Algiers, that South Africa is “the best support” for the Palestinian cause, to break the wall of impunity on which the Zionist occupation relies to escape any accountability.
Attaf, who was chairing a ministerial meeting of the 7th Algerian-South African Bilateral High Commission on Cooperation, alongside the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, recalled Algeria’s unwavering position on issues of national liberation and the people’s rights, particularly the Palestinian and Sahrawi causes, emphasizing that Algeria has found in South Africa “the best support to break the wall of impunity on which the Zionist occupier relies to escape any accountability or sanction.”
“The Palestinian cause has found in Algeria an indefatigable voice that pleads for the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, within the UN Security Council and in other regional and international fora,” said Attaf.
As for the Western Saharan issue, Attaf reaffirmed “the right of the Sahrawi people to exercise their inalienable, imprescriptible, inviolable, and non-negotiable right to self-determination, in accordance with the relevant international resolutions of the UN and the African Union (AU).”
As part of the AU “we defend with one voice for the political and development causes of our continent and we work in a unified approach to protect our organization from divisions and foreign interference, in all their forms, while continuing our common efforts to implement African solutions to African problems,” added Attaf.
The minister emphasized the importance of strengthening economic cooperation between Algeria and South Africa, affirming that “the relations between the first and third economies of Africa offer enormous opportunities to develop a solid and promising economic partnership.”
Attaf stressed the necessity of defining cooperation priorities and focusing on areas likely to promote integration between the two countries, while creating an appropriate environment to intensify exchanges between the economic operators and encourage them to explore new cooperation opportunities.
He also called for increasing bilateral investments and commercial exchanges, with a view to reflecting the shared ambitions for the economic partnership.
For his part, Lamola affirmed in his address at the meeting that the Western Saharan cause will remain “among the major political and diplomatic priorities for both South Africa and Algeria.”
The two countries continue to support the people of Western Sahara in their quest for lasting peace and self-determination.
In this regard, the South African minister supports “the necessity for direct dialogue between the Polisario Front and Morocco, where the Sahrawi people must be allowed to exercise their right to self-determination through a referendum under the auspices of the United Nations, in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 690, adopted on 29 April 1991.”
He noted that the international community is facing a series of growing challenges, and that peace and security in the world remain a profound concern, where commitment to international law is increasingly threatened, emphasizing that it falls to several countries, notably Algeria and South Africa, to continue their well-known commitments to peace, stability and development.
Lamola affirmed that his country and Algeria are playing a “pivotal” role in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), highlighting that “the successful implementation of this noble continental development initiative will contribute to job creation, poverty reduction and inequality elimination in our countries and in the African continent.”
Lamola hailed “the success” of the high-level meetings, held from 17 to 19 January 2023 and from 2 to 4 December 2024, in South Africa and Algeria, respectively. These meetings aimed at laying the foundations and reviewing bilateral relations in preparation for the 7th Algerian-South African Joint High Commission on Cooperation.