Algeria has begun formal procedures to cancel its air services agreement with the United Arab Emirates, a move that signals a further deterioration in relations between the two countries. The agreement, signed in Abu Dhabi in May 2013, governed commercial air links between the North African state and the Gulf country and has been in force for more than a decade.
State-owned Algerian radio reported on Saturday that the government had initiated the legal process required to terminate the accord, though no official explanation was immediately provided. The broadcaster said the UAE would be formally notified through diplomatic channels in line with the agreement’s provisions, and that the Secretary-General of the International Civil Aviation Organization would also be informed to carry out the necessary procedures within the global aviation body.
While authorities stopped short of spelling out the reasons for the decision, Algerian media have in recent months sharply criticised the UAE, accusing it of attempting to sow discord in the region and interfere in Algeria’s internal affairs. The latest move appears to formalise a cooling of ties that has been increasingly visible in official statements and media commentary.
Relations between Algiers and Abu Dhabi were publicly questioned in October last year when President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said Algeria enjoyed warm and “brotherly” relations with most Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, but excluded one unnamed country. He accused that state of meddling in Algeria’s domestic affairs and seeking to destabilise the country, comments widely interpreted as a reference to the UAE.
There was no immediate response from Emirati officials to the announcement. If completed, the termination of the air services agreement would mark one of the most concrete diplomatic steps taken so far in the dispute, potentially affecting commercial flights and people-to-people links while underscoring the growing strain between Algeria and the UAE.
