Algeria–Greece relations

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Algerian-Greek relations
Map indicating locations of Algeria and Greece

Algeria
Greece

Diplomatic relations between Algeria and Greece date back for more than 2000 years.[1] Diplomatic relations have been solid since Algeria's first years of independence. Greece maintains an embassy in Algiers, and Algeria is represented in Greece by its embassy in Athens.[2] Trade between Greece and Algeria is increasing, with imports of natural gas from Algeria an important factor.[3] There have been problems with illegal immigration from Algeria to Greece in recent years, and with Algerian trafficking of Sub-Saharan Africans seeking to enter the European Union.[4][5]

History

Phoenician and Greek colonies about 350 BC
The maximum extent of the Roman Empire under Trajan in 117 AD
Cleopatra VII of Egypt. Louvre

The first recorded contacts between Greeks and Algerians were struggles in the 5th century BC between the

Africa and Mauretania.[7]

Justinian
. c. 550.

After almost 600 years as part of the Roman Empire, the territory that is now Algeria was occupied by the

Byzantine empire.[9][10] In 535, the Greek emperor Justinian I made Sicily
a Byzantine province.

Ifriqiya at the beginning of the ninth century.

The Arab forces of

Berber units captured Palermo after a year-long siege.[13] Palermo became the Muslim capital of Sicily, renamed al-Madinah.[14] Taormina fell in 902, but the Greeks clung onto territory in the island until 965.[12]

In 1061, after a successful campaign against the Byzantines in the south of Italy, the Norman Robert Guiscard invaded the Emirate of Sicily and captured Messina. After a prolonged campaign, the Normans completed the conquest of Sicily by 1091.[15] The Norman Kingdom of Sicily developed a vibrant culture, and became a gateway that opened the world of Greek philosophy and Muslim science to Western Europe.[16] (Later the Normans went on to sack and occupy Constantinople itself in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade).[17]

Ottoman Empire at its greatest extent

After the

Barbary coast, were a severe threat to Mediterranean trade until their suppression in the early 19th century. Greek and Barbary pirates had close relations, with many Greeks sailing on Barbary ships.[20]

A substantial proportion of the Greek speaking inhabitants of

Algerian War of Independence resettled in Southern France following Algeria's independence from France in 1962, having largely assimilated with other French and European Pied-Noir
settlers in Algeria, although a small number are known to have settled in Greece or emigrated to the United States.

Greece was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Algeria after its independence in 1962, by upgrading the then Greek Consulate General in Algiers to an embassy in 1963.[2]

Official relations

Diplomatic contacts

The two Mediterranean countries have frequent high-level diplomatic contacts. In 1994, Algerian Foreign Minister Mohammed Salah Dembri visited Athens where he met his counterpart Karolos Papoulias and was received by Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. They discussed bilateral relations and specifically discussed the Cyprus and Skopje issues.[23] The Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Greece in February 2001, returning a previous visit paid by the Foreign Minister of Greece to Algeria.[24][25] In July 2002, Greek Minister of Development Akis Tsochatzopoulos and Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil met to examine new ways of cooperation.[26] In 2003, Greek [National] Defence Minister Ioannos Papandoniou visited Algeria to discuss ways to consolidate military cooperation between Algeria and Greece.[27] In March 2008, the Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis visited Algiers where she met with Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and agreed to boost bilateral economic cooperation.[28] In a message to Greek president Karolos Papoulias, Bouteflika said he wished to develop and deepen relationships between the two countries and to consult over issues related to security in the Mediterranean region.[29]

Bilateral agreements

As of 2009, the two countries had in place 3 bilateral agreements:[2]

  • Agreement on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation (1982)
  • Agreement on Educational Cooperation (1988)
  • Agreement on Mutual Protection and Promotion of Investments (2000)

Economic relations

Natural gas pipelines in Greece. Revithoussa is near the southeast intersection.

Since 2000, Algeria has supplied Greece with natural gas under a long-term agreement between the two countries. The

Revithoussa LNG Terminal to the west of Athens.[30] The exports of Algerian products to Greece amounted to $89 million in 2001, including mainly oil and oil derivatives, natural gas, inorganic chemicals, iron and steel. In the same year, Greek exports to Algeria amounted to $50.78 million, consisting mainly of cereals and related derivatives, tobacco products, pharmaceuticals, medical and non-ferrous minerals.[24] By 2006, total trade volumes had risen to US$410.2 million.[3] In 2007, Algeria was ranked 6th among Greece's Arab trade partners.[2]

In 2008, a high-ranking delegation of Algerian government and business officials from sectors such as ports management, construction, public works, banking and finance as well as energy, and around 60 Greek delegates held a forum on Greek-Algerian economic cooperation in Athens.[31]

Migration

As Spain and Italy are taking increasingly tough measures to restrict illegal migrants from the Middle East and Africa, growing numbers are entering the EU through Greece. In 2007, Greece arrested 112,000 illegal immigrants, up from 40,000 in 2005.

Neo-Nazi Greeks inside an abandoned eight floor building with no water and electricity.[34] Earlier in the year, Turkish police arrested a group of 120 Algerian illegal immigrants who were trying to cross the border into Greece. The Turkish town of Adana has become a popular transit point for Algerian illegal immigrants.[4]

Algeria is also a staging post for trade in migrants from

U.S. Department of State describes Algeria as a transit country for men and women trafficked from Sub-Saharan Africa to Europe for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-521-21592-7
    .
  2. ^ a b c d "Hellenic Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Algeria". Hellenic Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  3. ^ a b "Global Greece: Algeria". Invest in Greece. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  4. ^ a b "Turkey detains 120 Algerian harragas". United States Africa Command. 2009-03-26. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
  5. ^ a b "Algeria (Tier 2 Watch List)" (PDF). United States Department of State. Retrieved 2009-04-25. [dead link]
  6. ^ "Wars of Carthage and Syracuse". Boglewood Group. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  7. ^ "Polybius: The Histories". LacusCurtius. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  8. ^ "Vandals". LookLex. Archived from the original on 2006-02-08. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  9. ISBN 978-0-14-045528-1
    .
  10. ^ Abd Ar Rahman bin Muhammed ibn Khaldun. History of the world.
  11. ISBN 0-7011-1347-2
    .
  12. ^ a b "Brief history of Sicily" (PDF). Archaeology.Stanford.edu. 7 October 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-09.
  13. Previté-Orton
    (1971), vol. 1, pg. 370
  14. ^ Islam in Sicily Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, by Alwi Alatas
  15. ISBN 0-521-26911-3
    .
  16. ISBN 0-521-65573-0
    .
  17. ^ Edward Gibbon (1841). The history of the decline and fall of the Roman empire. Harper & Brothers.
  18. ^
    ISBN 0-7195-5513-2
    .
  19. ^ "The pirate brothers Barbarossa Greek". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  20. ISBN 0-415-00018-1
    .
  21. ^ Stephanopoli de Comnène 2002, pp. 70–79; Nicholas 2005, pp. 55, 67–68
    Pélerinage à Sidi Mérouane un village Gréco-Corse en Algerie 1874-1962, Les Sites Pieds-Noirs des Pyrénées Orientales: Guelma, archived from the original on 2011-06-11, retrieved 2010-08-21
  22. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Cargèse, EHESS (in French).. The population of the village was 1078 in 1872 but only 849 in 1876.
  23. ^ "Algerian FM has talks with Papoulias, calls on PM". Athens News Agency. 1994-05-07. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  24. ^ a b "Hellenic Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Algeria". Old.mfa.gr. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  25. ^ "Algerian, Greek foreign ministers agree to boost cooperation (Algerian Radio)". Nl.newsbank.com. 2001-02-02. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  26. ^ "THE MINISTER OF DEVELOPMENT MET WITH THE ALGERIAN ENERGY MINISTER". Macedonian Press Agency. 2002-07-02. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  27. ^ "Greek defence minister in Algeria 28 January (Algerian Radio)". Nl.newsbank.com. 2003-01-27. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  28. ^ "Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis visits Algeria" (PDF). North Africa Times. 8 March 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  29. ^ "Bouteflika congratulates Greek President". EL MOUDJAHID - QUOTIDIEN NATIONAL D'INFORMATION. 2009-05-13. Retrieved 2009-07-19.[dead link]
  30. ^ "Algeria: Algerian Gas Exports To Greece., IPR Strategic Business Information Database". Highbeam.com. 1999-12-16. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  31. ^ "Greek-Algerian economic forum held in Athens". Greekembassy.org. 2008-06-11. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  32. ^ "Greece a "prison" for migrants amid EU policy mess". Reuters. 7 Nov 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  33. ^ Kitsantonis, Niki (2008-10-02). "A rising tide of migrants unsettles Athens". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  34. ^ "500 illegal immigrants besieged by demonstrators in Greece". Echorouk Online. 12 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
  35. ^ "Controlling the Flow". Al-Ahram Weekly. 27 June 2003. Archived from the original on 30 July 2003. Retrieved 2009-07-19.

Sources

  • Nicholas, Nick (2005), "A history of the Greek colony of Corsica", Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora, 31 (1), New York: 33–78.
  • Stephanopoli de Comnène, Michel (2002), Histoire des Grecs–Maniotes en Corse: III. Cargèse 1776-1894 (in French), Athens: Études Laconiennes,
    ISBN 978-960-86254-3-3
    .

External links
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