Algeria interested in Portuguese solar, wind energy investment

Portugal’s foreign affairs minister, João Gomes Cravinho, has met with his Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, who expressed interest in Portuguese companies investing in Algeria in solar and wind energy.

Speaking to Lusa on Wednesday, João Cravinho also said a “high-level meeting chaired by the prime ministers” of the two countries had been decided for 2023, a meeting which would take place in Algeria, as well as a state visit by the president of Algeria to Portugal.

The Portuguese foreign affairs minister said that Wednesday’s visit to Algeria, where he met Ramtane Lamamra, whom he has known since 2005 when he was ambassador in Lisbon, was “based on old friendships”, but also a visit to a country that “not being a neighbour”, shares “many of the same concerns”.

“Not being a neighbouring country, it is almost, and shares many concerns in relation to the region, the Mediterranean, the relationship of the European Union with Africa and with the Arab world. It was important for us to talk about what we can do together in a framework of geopolitical transformation and geo-economic transformation,” he explained.

João Cravinho stressed that the issue of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia was a factor “that could not fail to be the subject of dialogue”, adding that the “geo-economic issues related to energy, renewable energy and the opportunities that arise with the digital transition” were also on the table.

“Although Algeria is a large exporter of fossil fuels, it is also a country with immense potential in terms of solar and wind energy. We have very qualified companies in these areas and there was a show of interest from the Algerian side in having Portuguese investors in these areas,” the minister said.

He said that this would be a matter for work with the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP), with the secretary of state for internationalisation, as well as the sector ministry, namely the ministry for the environment and climate change.

A “high-level meeting chaired by the prime ministers” of the two countries was scheduled for 2023, a meeting that will take place in Algeria, in addition to a state visit of the president of Algeria to Portugal.

“We have quite an intense calendar between the two countries. We will now deal with organising the joint commission where technicians from both countries will meet,” he said, stressing that there are “14 legal instruments that are practically finalised and that will be signed” in 2023.

João Gomes Cravinho was visiting Algeria on Wednesday to assess bilateral relations on an economic level but also in terms of cooperation, language and culture, and to discuss international issues.