Algeria smashes the main man responsible for Spanish trade blackmail

The Algerian finance minister, Abderrahmane Raouya, was removed from his duties on Tuesday by President Abdelmajdij Tebboune in the context of the suspension of the Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighbourliness with Spain. 

The high-ranking Algerian state official has been singled out as the main culprit in the trade crisis with Spain and the European Union. ABEF, the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions, was the institution that called for a freeze on imports and exports with Spain. ABEF is composed mostly of public banks and financial institutions that report directly to the Algerian Ministry of Finance, and is therefore considered the responsibility of the minister.  

"In accordance with the provisions of Article 91, paragraph seven of the Constitution, and after consultation with the Prime Minister, Mr Ayman Benabderrahmane, the President of the Republic, Mr Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has today signed a presidential decree, terminating the functions of the Minister of Finance, Mr Abderrahmane Raouya," reads the statement issued by the Presidency. 

The secretary-general of the Ministry of Finance will take up the acting post pending further appointments as part of a new cabinet reshuffle. 

This was Raouya's third stint in the finance ministry. He was already part of Bouteflika's last government with the same portfolio, which is why many have considered him as one of the members of Algeria's old guard, prior to the 2019 changes. He returned to the ministry in 2020 under the Djerad government, and in February 2022 for the last time under the Ben Abderrahmane government.  

Raouya's dismissal comes amid tensions between Algeria and Spain over the change of position on the Western Sahara dispute. "I believe that the dismissal is aimed at unblocking relations with Spain, because the decision was taken by a financial institution which, although it is made up of public and private banking institutions, depends on the Ministry of Finance", the president of the Algerian-Spanish Circle of Commerce and Industry, Djamel Eddine Bouabdallah, told this newspaper. 

The Algerian embassy to the EU backed down on Friday when it learned of the Commission's position, which closed ranks with Spain, stressing that the trade freeze affected the Association Agreements signed between Algeria and the EU. The Algerian delegation clarified that the suspension did not compromise trade with Brussels. 

In this sense, Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra overruled Raouya by declaring that he had not imposed any blockade on trade with Spain.  

"The dismissal is related to the decision to revoke the suspension of the friendship agreement," says Djamel Eddine Bouabdallah. The president of the Algerian-Spanish Circle of Trade and Industry anticipates an imminent lifting of the blockade on imports and exports between the two countries.