Country Profile
From The Report: Algeria 2013
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Covering 2.4m sq km, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, and borders the Mediterranean Sea in the north; Tunisia and Libya in the east; Niger and Mali in the south; and Mauritania, Western Sahara and Morocco in the west. Rich in oil and gas resources, which have supported relative stability in recent years, the country is also Africa’s fourth-largest economy. Algeria has strong trade ties with Europe and North America and is increasingly building links with its Maghreb neighbours as regional integration grows.

This chapter contains a viewpoint with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and interviews with Mourad Medelci, President, Constitutional Council and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Lord Risby, UK Trade Envoy to Algeria; Anne Ruth Herkes, German State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology; and Martin Schulz, President, European Parliament.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Steady going: The country maintains relative economic and political stability in a quickly changing regional environment
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Even amidst the constant change that now characterises North Africa, Algeria has charted a path of relative stability. This is largely due to its natural riches, with a vast array of oil and gas resources, that have made Algeria the fourth-largest economy on the continent after South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt, and the second-largest in North Africa. Those same hydrocarbons reserves currently represent around 31% of GDP and more than 60% of the government’s revenue. They have also made the…

Viewpoint

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on realising potential
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Over the past year, Algeria has continued the economic expansion that it has been pursuing since the start of the millennium. Our overall strategy is marked by efforts to reinforce, modernise and diversify our economy and to help strengthen its competitiveness abroad and move away from dependence on hydrocarbons, all the while supporting the role of home-grown companies as primary drivers of economic growth. In the past, policy measures have focused on securing an enabling business environment…

Interview

OBG talks to Mourad Medelci, President, Constitutional Council and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs
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Interview:Mourad Medelci What potential is there for the development of strategic partnerships with the UK? MOURAD MEDELCI: Algeria and the UK maintain privileged and solid relations. This relationship is consolidated by a bilateral mechanism set up in 2006, known as the Committee on Bilateral Relations. Its seventh session was held in Algiers in 2013, and the eighth session is scheduled in London for 2014. Frequent meetings between senior Algerian and British officials in the last two years…

Analysis

Reaching out: Taking on a broader role on the regional and global stage
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Algeria’s foreign relations are transforming as the country expands its trade and economic partnerships outside of Europe and North America and assumes a greater role in regional political and security issues. From the 1960s until the mid-1980s, Algeria’s economic development policy focused on hydrocarbons exploration, state centralisation and self-sufficiency. The new state’s foreign policy was largely founded on the principles of national sovereignty and freedom from external influence.…

Interview

OBG talks to Lord Risby, UK Trade Envoy to Algeria
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Interview: Lord Risby How would you rate the overall state of liberalisation and other market reforms in Algeria? LORD RISBY: Today there is generally a broad consensus on the necessity of free-market reforms and the need for the private sector to drive economic growth. The path to a market economy is long and complex. Algeria has already made a number of adjustments. Some of these flowed from the difficult financial period in the mid-1990s when Algeria approached the IMF for assistance and rescheduled…

Interview

OBG talks to Anne Ruth Herkes, German State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
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Interview: Anne Ruth Herkes How can emerging markets like Algeria encourage growth of their industrial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)? ANNE RUTH HERKES: The "Mittelstand" is a frequently mentioned example when discussing the success of the German economic model. The strength of the German Mittelstand is characterised by its ability to innovate, and the commitment of its entrepreneurs with a strong sense of responsibility. Its creativeness, motivation and skilled workforce are decisive…

Interview

OBG talks to Martin Schulz, President, European Parliament
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Interview:Martin Schulz Where do you see the greatest scope to deepen cooperation between the EU and Algeria? MARTIN SCHULZ: I think we need to proceed with a threefold strategy: economic diversification, political engagement and cultural exchange. As things stand 98% of all EU imports from Algeria come from fossil fuels and related materials. Whilst it is unsurprising that these items top our trading imports, their preponderance is indicative of the need to diversify our economic relationship…