The visit of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Algiers underlines the mutual interests: While Rome is pushing ahead with the diversification of its energy imports, Italy is increasingly relying on Algeria as a diplomatic partner in crisis regions such as the Sahel zone and Eastern Europe.

Algiers – On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met in Algiers for bilateral talks. The visit, Meloni’s second trip to Algeria within her term in office, highlights the current priorities of both governments.

At its core, it is about a pragmatic alliance: Italy seeks long-term energy security after the loss of Russian supplies, while Algeria consolidates its position as the leading energy exporter in the Mediterranean and develops Italy as the primary gateway to the European market.

Energy security and economic realpolitik

Economic cooperation focuses primarily on the raw materials sector. According to Prime Minister Meloni’s official statements, cooperation between the state-owned companies ENI and Sonatrach is being intensified. The focus is not only on classic natural gas deliveries, but also on the exploration of offshore deposits and shale gas. This partnership also serves Algiers to establish Italy as a strategic counterweight to other European states such as Spain, with which relations are currently strained due to Morocco policy and the Western Sahara issue.

At the same time, the “Mattei Plan” is being pushed forward, which goes beyond the energy sector. A central project is the large-scale agricultural development of desert areas. In Timimoun Province, the area under cultivation for grains and pulses is to be expanded from 7,000 to 13,000 hectares by 2026. These measures will be accompanied by the planned establishment of a joint trade committee to make it easier for Italian companies to access sectors such as pharmaceuticals and digital infrastructure in Algeria.

Tebboune positions Algeria on regional conflict issues

President Tebboune used the shared stage with the Italian head of government to clearly highlight Algeria’s foreign policy positions. Regarding the Middle East conflict, he condemned the “serious violations of international humanitarian law” in the Gaza Strip, according to the APS news agency. He called on the international community to intensify efforts to find a just solution that guarantees the Palestinian people the right to their own independent state within the 1967 borders.

The situation in Libya and Western Sahara also featured heavily in Tebboune’s statement. He stressed the need to secure Libya’s unity through political solutions without external interference. Regarding Western Sahara, the President reiterated the traditional Algerian position. However, there is a diplomatic tension here: While Algeria continues to push for a referendum, the international framework has shifted. For decades, the UN has called for a referendum on the future of Western Sahara to be held as part of the MINURSO mission. But since Resolution 2797 of October 2025, the referendum no longer plays a role in the UN documents. Rather, the conflict is to be resolved within the framework of the region’s autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, with Algeria taking part in the discreetly held negotiations as a party, alongside Morocco, Mauritania and the Polisario Front.

Meloni relies on Algerian mediation in the Sahel zone and Ukraine

Prime Minister Meloni expanded the focus of the talks to include global security architecture. She highlighted the “extraordinary role” that Algeria plays historically and currently in the Sahel – a region increasingly destabilized by instability and terrorist threats. Italy, which is involved militarily and in development policy in the region, sees Algerian diplomacy as an indispensable partner in containing the spread of jihadism.

The war in Ukraine was also a topic of discussion. Meloni emphasized the need for a “just and lasting peace.” Italy is relying on Algeria as an influential voice within the non-aligned states and the African Union to keep diplomatic channels open. The cooperation with Algiers is intended to help cushion the economic shocks of the war, which particularly affect African nations, through stable energy and agricultural partnerships.

Migration and security as a common interest

Despite differing diplomatic priorities, both sides found consensus on security issues. Meloni expressly thanked Algeria for its “exemplary cooperation” in combating irregular migration. The reduction in landings on the Italian coast is seen in Rome as a success of this partnership. The shared priority remains dismantling criminal networks operating in the Mediterranean. There was also agreement in the assessment that true stability can only be achieved through local economic prospects, which led back to the ambitious investment projects of the Mattei Plan.