As the United Nations Security Council gears up to adopt a new resolution on Western Sahara, Algeria is intensifying its efforts to strengthen ties with Russia. Following a phone conversation on Tuesday, October 21, between Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune hosted Alexei Repik, the president of Business Russia, the Russian employers' organization, in Algiers this Thursday. In a statement from the Algerian Ministry of Industry, it was highlighted that «the meeting provided an opportunity to explore prospects for economic and industrial cooperation between the two nations, particularly in the chemical, mechanical, metallurgical, and processing industries. Both parties stressed the importance of launching joint projects based on a balanced and mutually beneficial partnership». This meeting is one of several high-level bilateral exchanges that have increased as the October deadline at the UN Security Council approaches. At the end of September, General Saïd Chengriha, Chief of Staff of the People's National Army, met in Algiers with a Russian delegation led by Dmitry Shugaev, Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation. Two days later, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, welcomed the Russian Deputy Minister of Energy, Oleg Marchavin, to discuss the new legislative framework adopted by Algiers, which offers increased incentives to foreign investors in the hydrocarbons sector, allowing up to 80% of shares. Meanwhile, Algeria's ambassador to Moscow, Toufik Djouama, held two consecutive meetings with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin on September 30 and October 9, focusing on the Sahara issue. Through this intensification of diplomatic and economic contacts, Algiers appears to be seeking a potential Russian veto on the upcoming Security Council resolution concerning the Sahara issue.
