Algeria has decided to end the rent-free use of real estate belonging to the Algerian State for the benefit of the French Embassy in Algeria this Thursday. This was indicated in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On this occasion, two verbal notes were given to the Chargé d’Affaires of the French Embassy in Algeria, who was summoned to the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Director of Immunities and Privileges, according to the same source.
“The first verbal note was intended to formally notify the denunciation by the Algerian side of the Franco-Algerian agreement of 2013 relating to the reciprocal exemption of visas for holders of diplomatic and service passports. This denunciation goes further than the simple suspension notified by the French side and definitively puts an end to the very existence of this agreement,” the statement added.
“Consequently, and without prejudice to the deadlines stipulated in the agreement, the Algerian Government has decided to subject holders of French diplomatic and service passports to visa requirements with immediate effect. It also reserves the right to subject the granting of these visas to the same conditions as those that the French Government will establish for Algerian nationals. This is a strict application of the principle of reciprocity which expresses, above all, Algeria’s rejection of French desires for provocation, intimidation and bargaining.”
The second verbal note aims, for its part, “to inform the French side of the decision of the Algerian authorities to end the provision, free of charge, of real estate belonging to the Algerian State for the benefit of the French Embassy in Algeria. This note also announces the re-examination of the considerably advantageous leases contracted by the embassy with the OPGI of Algeria and invites the French side to send a delegation to Algiers to begin discussions on this subject,” the statement underlines.
“It should be remembered that the Algerian diplomatic representation in France does not benefit from any advantage of this same nature. Consequently, the Algerian action thus decided also aims to introduce balance and reciprocity into the overall Algerian-French relationship,” the same source concludes.