Algeria and Spain Reconnect After Two-Year Diplomatic Freeze: What Led to the Shift?

After two years of strained ties, Algeria's Interior Minister's visit to Spain rekindled hopes of restoring partnership and cooperation, paving the way for a fresh start.

Interior Minister Ibrahim Mourad, accompanied by the Director General of National Security, began an official visit to Spain on February 24 and 25, 2025. This marked the first visit since the political dispute between the two nations in March 2022.

The relationship between the two countries soured after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez supported Morocco’s autonomy plan to resolve the dispute with the Polisario Front over Western Sahara.

Morocco proposes an expanded autonomy plan under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a self-determination referendum, a stance backed by Algeria, which hosts refugees from the region.

Reactivating Bilateral Cooperation

According to a statement from the Algerian Ministry of the Interior on February 24, 2025, Minister Mourad discussed files of bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

The statement emphasized the special importance of the visit for revitalizing cooperation, strengthening coordination, and maintaining ongoing consultations on shared concerns. It also highlighted discussions on joint activities and programs aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two countries to meet their interests and address common challenges effectively.

The statement stressed the importance of close cooperation between relevant security agencies and institutions in both countries, based on the bilateral agreement to combat terrorism and organized crime.

The meeting focused on fighting transnational crime, especially illegal trafficking of weapons, ammunition, drugs, and chemical precursors, as well as cyber and economic crimes.

It further addressed issues such as human trafficking and organ trade, especially given the rise and complexity of criminal activities, which increasingly rely on modern means, necessitating enhanced joint efforts.

The statement also noted that one of the major challenges facing both countries and the region for many years has been irregular migration. Algeria has adopted a comprehensive approach and integrated vision to address the risks associated with this phenomenon and ensure adequate handling of its various aspects.

On March 18, 2022, Algeria announced the suspension of the friendship and good neighborliness treaty signed in 2002 and withdrew its ambassador from Madrid. However, in November 2023, it appointed diplomat Abdel Fattah Daghmoum as its ambassador to Spain.

A meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 20, 2025, provided a new momentum towards a mutual desire to overcome their differences.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, following talks with his Algerian counterpart at the Ministry of Interior, expressed Madrid's appreciation for Algeria's “critical efforts in combating human trafficking mafias within its territory, which has led to the dismantling of numerous criminal organizations at their source.”

In a press statement, Marlaska highlighted that “the issue of irregular migration across the Mediterranean was one of the key topics discussed during the meeting.”

The Spanish minister also said he and his Algerian counterpart had discussed arrangements for the next meeting of the Joint Committee on Security, Counterterrorism, and Organized Crime, which has been in place since 2009.

“We share many common interests and challenges, with significant issues that now, more than ever, require joint responses that offer effective solutions,” he added.

Marlaska praised “the excellent cooperation between the two countries, which reflects a high level of mutual trust and respect, further strengthening our bilateral cooperation, particularly in the fight against terrorism.”

Economy and Politics

In his analysis of the economic aspects of the visit, Algerian economist Abdel Rahman al-Mabtoul believes that the revived relations between Algeria and Spain is driven by “the pressure of major economic interests, primarily gas imports, as well as joint projects in the southern Algerian gas fields.”

“Algeria, which exports about 10.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Madrid, is Spain's main partner in this field,” he told Al-Estiklal.

“Algeria may also seek to increase its stake in the Spanish company Naturgy, which currently holds only 4.5 percent of the shares.”

According to the Economist, Naturgy is important to Algeria because it owns 49 percent of the Medgaz pipeline, which delivers natural gas to Spain via the Mediterranean Sea.

“It is difficult to maintain tense relations, given the strategic shared interests between the two countries, despite Spain's unchanged stance on the Western Sahara conflict.”

On the other hand, Algerian political science professor Anis Boukider sees the restoration of Algerian-Spanish relations as part of several varying contexts, primarily shared geopolitical interests, as both countries are “rational in their dealings.”

Bouguider told Al-Jazeera Net on February 23, 2025, that these interests “are particularly significant when we consider that Algeria, as the southern shore of the Mediterranean, is the primary energy partner for EU countries, along with its advantages sought by the Union in their dealings.”

Regarding the future of these relations, Boukider predicted that they would be promising and prosperous, especially with the EU revising its partnership agreement with Algeria, alongside current geopolitical stakes.

The common issues between Algeria and Spain far outweigh those that caused misunderstandings in the past, “particularly with Spain's shift in stance on the just causes that Algeria continues to defend.”

According to him, the future of Algerian-Spanish relations “looks optimistic,” particularly in the field of economic cooperation, especially in geostrategic areas.

Similarly, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Algiers, Tawfik Boukaida, believes that relations between Algeria and Spain “have moved past the shock phase after Spain's recognition of Morocco's claim over Western Sahara.”

Boukaida told Alhurra on February 24, 2025, that both sides are now seeking ways to “strengthen their cooperation and neutralize points of disagreement between them.”

“Algeria realized that the severed relations were detrimental to the future of ties between the two countries and peoples, despite Spain not altering its position on Western Sahara.” 

“Both nations have suffered material and human losses due to this disagreement,” he added.

Boukaida confirmed that “relations between the two countries will never return to what they were before,” noting that “disagreements will remain, especially regarding the Western Sahara issue.”

“Madrid may avoid raising contentious issues related to Western Sahara to prevent a return to the previous state of tension.”

A 180-Degree Shift

Algeria’s stance toward Spain has shifted 180 degrees; this is what Spain’s Atalayar reported on February 26, 2025.

This shift comes “after Algeria distanced itself politically following Spain’s recognition of Morocco’s autonomy plan as the most serious, credible, and realistic solution to the Western Sahara dispute.”

“Now, relations have entered a new phase, beginning with meetings, the first of which was between Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa,” according to the report.

“This was followed by Algerian Interior Minister and Local Government official Ibrahim Mourad’s visit to Madrid, where he met with his Spanish counterpart Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Spain’s Secretary of State for Regional Policy, Arcadi Espana Garcia.”

The outlet viewed security as the foundation of the renewed bilateral relations, particularly in counterterrorism and organized crime efforts.

It highlighted that “as a first step toward a new partnership, the meeting discussed the resumption of a security agreement in effect since 2009, which established a joint security committee serving as a bridge between Algerian intelligence and Spain’s National Intelligence Center to combat terrorism.”

Meanwhile, Escudodigital underscored the symbolic significance of the visit, noting that “Mourad is more than just a minister. In addition to overseeing the interior, local government, and territorial planning, he is one of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s most trusted figures, having been appointed as his campaign director for the presidential election held on September 7, 2024.”

The report pointed out that the recent meetings between the foreign ministers and Mourad’s visit “came after Algeria’s central bank lifted all restrictions on foreign trade with Spain on November 7, 2024. This move facilitated the normalization of trade exchanges, which have gradually returned to pre-2021 levels.”

Political analyst Juan Jose Fernandez said the bridge for reconciliation between the two countries was built through the Interior Ministry.

“Mourad’s visit to Madrid is a diplomatic gesture of the highest importance, particularly given the ongoing tensions between Algeria and Morocco,” he told elPeriodico.

“Throughout the crisis with Morocco, Spanish-Algerian security relations were never severed due to mutual interests and the necessity of maintaining them. The bridge remained intact, especially through phone communications.”

Fernandez also pointed to a key turning point in normalization: “The swift release of Spanish tourist Joaquin Navarro, who was kidnapped in Algeria on January 15, 2025, by a criminal group intending to sell him to ISIS in the Greater Sahara, became a pivotal moment in restoring relations; he was freed within seven days in an operation that Spanish authorities praised as a testament to Algeria’s cooperation.”