Algeria and Italy sign security and business deals to deepen strategic partnership

Italy and Algeria agreed on Wednesday to cooperate on fighting terrorism and managing migration flows during an intergovernmental meeting in Rome, while companies signed new deals in energy and telecommunications.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune at the 17th-century Villa Doria Pamphili, following a visit to Algiers by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in March.

"Our bilateral relations have reached a level of intensity and solidity that had never been achieved before," Meloni told a news conference after the meeting.

Algeria is Italy's leading trading partner in Africa, with bilateral trade worth almost 14 billion euros ($16.4 billion) and Italian investments amounting to 8.5 billion euros, according to Meloni's government.

"I express my confidence in what we have achieved at this summit. The agreements signed open broad horizons for a model strategic partnership that reflects the depth of our relations," Tebboune said.

The two governments signed 13 agreements, including one on fighting terrorism and its financing, though they did not specify which threats the pact targeted. 

The countries also agreed to coordinate search and rescue operations for migrants attempting the dangerous sea crossing from North Africa to Europe. 

Meloni’s right-wing government, elected in 2022, has pledged to curb migrant arrivals.

Italian energy group Eni signed a $1.3 billion production-sharing contract this month with Algerian state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach to explore and develop hydrocarbons. 

On the sidelines of the Rome meeting, Eni and Sonatrach signed an additional agreement to expand cooperation.

"We are very satisfied with the collaboration between Eni and its counterpart Sonatrach, which will become even stronger," Meloni told reporters.

Eni buys gas from Sonatrach under a long-term contract, making Algeria a key fuel supplier for Italy after Rome cut ties with Russia's Gazprom following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

A separate deal will involve Sparkle, a subsea cable company and unit of Telecom Italia (TIM), which is set to be sold to a consortium led by Italy’s Treasury later this year. 

Sparkle will sign a preliminary agreement with Algerie Telecom to build a new subsea cable linking the two countries.

"Algeria is a strategic partner, and we are working hard to make this partnership ever broader, stronger and more diversified," Tajani said at a business forum attended by over 400 companies from the two nations.

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