Months before Ireland confirmed the nomination of its new ambassador to Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia with residence in Rabat, the country announced in October the appointment of an Algerian ambassador to Dublin. Algerian diplomat Mohamed Belaoura presented his credentials to Irish president Michael D. Higgins, according to a statement published by the Isrish Foreign Ministry and relayed by the Irish Presidency website. However, the appointment of the Algerian diplomat was completely ignored by Algeria's official news agency APS and other media platforms. On the website of the Algerian Foreign Affairs Ministry, the part dedicated to statements and news does not mention said appointment. Moreover, the part dedicated to Algerian diplomatic missions abroad, and which has not been updated in five months, still shows that Algeria does not have an embassy in Dublin. Today, His Excellency Mr. Mohammed Belaoura, the Ambassador of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria presented his Letters of Credentials to @PresidentIRL at Áras an Uachtaráin. Welcome to Ireland Ambassador ????? Full details available ?https://t.co/rgijM1i0Gq pic.twitter.com/S6to6P4URQ — Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) October 28, 2020 Reportedly, this secret appointment of its ambassador to Dublin shows how uneasy it is when it comes to the diplomatic successes of Morocco in Ireland. According to well-informed sources, Algiers is annoyed by the fact that while Ireland is going to open an embassy in Morocco, Algeria will still be covered by Ireland's diplomatic representation in Switzerland. Algeria has chosen to shun the appointment of its own ambassador to Dublin because it believes that the announcement has no diplomatic weight, knowing that Morocco has already obtained, since 2019, the promise of opening an Irish diplomatic representation based in Rabat. The fact that the Irish embassy in Morocco, the first of its kind in North Africa, will also cover two other Maghreb countries, Tunisia and Mauritania, makes the setback even heavier for Algiers.
