Rabat – Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has ordered the country’s government and private economic companies to terminate their contracts with Moroccan companies.
In a statement published on Sunday, President Tebboune “violently attacked” the Algerian Insurance and Reinsurance Company (CAAR) and the Algerian Insurance Company (SAA), many local outlets reported.
According to the statement, Algeria will give a period of 10 days for the companies to end all collaboration with Moroccan companies.
Tebboune’s argument is that cooperation with Moroccan businesses risks putting sensitive information at the disposal of “foreign entities” opposed to Algeria’s interests and undermining its security.
In its press release, the Algerian government directly described Morocco as an “enemy” country.
The move comes as no surprise and is the extension of Algiers’ hostile acts against Morocco that increased sharply after former US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Algeria has long adopted a hostile approach when it comes to Morocco. The Algerian military-political establishment arms, finances, and provides military training to the Polisario Front, the militant group that claims independence over Western Sahara.
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Recently, Algeria ordered all of its institutions and officials to withdraw from international events displaying an undivided map of Morocco.
Meanwhile, a number of senior Algerian officials have repeatedly attacked Morocco in statements to the press.
Ammar Belhimer, Algeria’s Communication Minister and Government Spokesperson, claimed in a recent interview that Morocco is a hostile country seeking to destabilize Algeria.
He claimed, falsely, that Morocco has been launching a “misleading and hostile campaign” against Algeria.
Belhimer’s comments came amid reports of Algerian media overtly attacking Morocco, making the Algerian official’s remarks read like a feeble justification of both the Algerian government and the media’s obsession with Morocco.
To date, the Algeria media’s most brazen Morocco-bashing episode occured when the controversy-prone Echourouk TV aired a controversial satirical television program depicting King Mohammed VI as a puppet.
The show was ostensibly aimed at criticizing the diplomatic rapprochement between Morocco and Israel, which Algeria vaguely claims constitutes an existential threat to its security and regional interests .
Following Echourouk TV’s offensive representation of the Moroccan King, people from Morocco and beyond furiously reacted to the program and called on Algeria’s media and political elite to show responsibility and focus on their country’s internal issues.
