Belgium's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara, officially announced this Thursday, October 23, has sparked a reaction from Algeria. Mere hours after Nasser Bourita's visit to Brussels, Algeria's Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf, had a phone call with his Belgian counterpart, Maxime Prévot. The Algerian foreign ministry issued a statement noting that the discussion provided an opportunity to «review the progress made in implementing the decisions jointly taken during the Belgian minister's visit to Algeria last July, which aimed at revitalizing bilateral cooperation». The statement also mentioned that the two officials talked about the «ongoing preparations for upcoming bilateral engagements». As of now, neither Maxime Prévot nor the Belgian foreign ministry have publicly commented on this conversation with the Algerian Foreign Minister via social media. It's worth highlighting that, unlike its responses to Spain in March 2022 and France in July 2024, Algeria has yet to take any economic or diplomatic actions against Belgium in response to its recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.
