\n Following her two-hour meeting with the Algerian leader, Rufo said it had provided an opportunity to discuss ‘security and defence cooperation’ [GETTY]<\/p>\n
France and Algeria set aside a two-year diplomatic falling-out <\/a>to agree on intensified cooperation on domestic security and defence at a meeting on Saturday between Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune and French Armed Forces Minister Alice Rufo.<\/p>\n As part of Rufo’s visit, France’s ambassador <\/a>to the North African country and former French colony, Stephane Romatet, returned to his post after being recalled about a year ago at the height of the dispute.<\/p>\n Following her two-hour meeting with the Algerian leader, Rufo said it had provided an opportunity to discuss “security and defence cooperation”.<\/p>\n Tebboune <\/a>and Rufo also discussed ways to “intensify” their cooperation on migration issues, as well as “judicial cooperation”, particularly in the area of drug trafficking.<\/p>\n The diplomatic spat <\/a>between Paris and Algiers began in 2024 when France declared its support for a Moroccan plan to grant autonomy to the disputed territory of Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty.<\/p>\n Algeria is the main foreign backer of the Polisario Front<\/a>, which seeks independence for the former Spanish colony, which Morocco controls and claims as an integral part of its kingdom.<\/p>\n The row then escalated over a number of other issues, including the detention of Boualem Sansal<\/a>, a Franco-Algerian writer.<\/p>\n After the meeting, Rufo also said that French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes <\/a>would receive a first consular visit since being detained on terror charges a year ago.<\/p>\n