ALGIERS- The “Algeria-Venezuela” parliamentary friendship group was set up, on Tuesday afternoon at the headquarters of the People’s National Assembly (APN), with the objectives of “promoting all-out cooperation and further deepening dialogue between the two parliamentary institutions”.
Chairman of the APN Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Community Committee, Mohamed Hani presided over the official installation ceremony of the “Algeria-Venezuela” parliamentary friendship group, in the presence of the Ambassador of Venezuela in Algeria, José de Jesus Sojo Reyes, in addition to the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abdallah Tamer, in his capacity as director general at the ministry, in charge of America. The presidency of this parliamentary group was entrusted to MP Ahcene Hani (group of independents).
Mr. Mohamed Hani affirmed in an opening speech of the session, that the installation of the Algeria-Venezuela parliamentary friendship group, “is certainly an achievement illustrating the distinguished relations uniting the two countries, expressing his country’s determination to enhance the ties in the best interests of the two friendly peoples”.
For Mr. Mohamed Hani, this step “testifies to Algeria’s commitment to its loyal friends in Venezuela, by preserving the depth of the historic relations and establishing the frameworks for dialogue between Algerian parliamentarians and their Venezuelan counterparts, with a view to establishing bridges of friendship, able to achieve more rapprochement”.
Mr. Hani expressed the readiness of the Lower House of Parliament to “meet all the conditions to achieve the noble objectives for which this Friendship Group was created and inject new impetus into parliamentary diplomacy”.
The latest constitutional amendments in Algeria “have given a real place to parliamentary diplomacy to be complementary to official one, with a view to strengthening the role of parliament, consolidating its constitutional powers and supporting democratic pluralism”, he underlined.
For his part, the Ambassador of the Republic of Venezuela in Algeria, José de Jesus Sojo Reyes indicated that the installation of the Algerian-Venezuelan friendship group “will support the already existing friendship binding the two sisterly countries”.
For his part, Tamer Abdallah, representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs considered that the Algerian-Venezuelan friendship group is “a new milestone in political cooperation between the two countries which aims to further boost the ties of friendship which date back to the beginning of the 1970s, boost cooperation and exchange between the two countries and strengthen the dialogue between the representatives of the two peoples on issues of common interest”.
In this vein, the president of this group, the deputy Mohamed Hani underlined the commitment of all the members of the group to “work together with the members of the Venezuelan National Assembly to develop the historical and privileged common relations and give them new dimensions”, calling on the members of the group to exert efforts to make it “a space for consultation, coordination and exchange of views between the two sisterly countries”.
Venezuela and Algeria enjoy constructive relations with bilateral cooperation further increasing. The Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Algeria celebrated on March 24, 2021 the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between Venezuela and Algeria, with the placement of a wreath before the bust of the Father of the Homeland, the Liberator Simón Bolívar, in the popular district of Algiers.
In his speech on this special day, Ambassador José de Jesús Sojo Reyes explained the various milestones of the bilateral relationship, highlighting that the friendship between Venezuela and Algeria, based on principles, has allowed over the years to advance in different areas of cooperation, such as energy, communication, transport and culture, with many coincidences in international forums, such as OPEC, Movement of Non-Alienated Countries and in cooperation between South America and Africa, thus reiterating what was expressed by the Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza on the existence of a positive balance in these 50 years of bilateral relationship, according to the Embassy’s communiqué.
“Principles of friendship, cooperation, solidarity and mutual respect; common values in matters of independence, sovereignty, the right to self-determination of peoples, the rejection of foreign interference. We both love freedom and have made great efforts to contribute to peace and freedom on our continents. It is noteworthy that these relations were greatly strengthened after the arrival to power of President Hugo Chávez and have continued to be strengthened during the years of government of our current President Nicolás Maduro.”
The development of official visits at the presidential level; of foreign and other ministers, Summits of Heads of State held in both capitals, such as the First OPEC Summit in Algiers (1975) and the Second OPEC Summit (2000), as well as the II ASA Summit, in Porlamar (2009) ; the exchange of technical, artistic and cultural delegations. The agreements reached in areas of bilateral interest such as energy, transport, communications, culture and trade, among others, are elements that show a positive balance in the development of 50 years of bilateral relations between Venezuela and Algeria, with prospects of continuing to deepen.
