Tebboune's Berlin Visit Signals Algeria's Strategic Energy Pivot Amid Domestic Challenges

For Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, this week's visit to Berlin marked his first official trip to Germany since he was elected president in 2019. The two-day visit was highlighted in a joint statement with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in which the two leaders emphasized "the quality of cooperation" between their countries and pledged to deepen long-term energy cooperation.

"Algeria is a central partner for Europe's energy security. Natural gas supplies and cooperation on renewable energies are to be expanded. In the long term, it is about establishing a southern hydrogen corridor — from North Africa to Germany," Cerstin Gammelin, the spokesperson for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier posted on X on Thursday.

Algeria is home to Africa's second-largest proven natural gas reserves after Nigeria. It is also Africa's largest natural gas producer. On July 2, Algeria's state-owned energy company Sonatrach delivered the first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) directly to Germany's Wilhelmshaven 1 floating LNG import terminal. A direct pipeline to Germany would eliminate the need for liquefaction, LNG shipping and regasification for those volumes. This could reduce transport costs for gas deliveries, as is already the case with Algeria's two existing pipelines to Italy and Spain.

"The war in Iran and the disruption of oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz have reinforced Algeria's energy importance," said Alice Gower, director of geopolitics and security at the London-based consulting firm Azure Strategy.

"Although Algeria cannot replace Gulf supplies, its pipeline gas reaches southern Europe without passing through Gulf shipping lanes, offering European governments supply diversification at a time of renewed concern about energy security," she said.

This view is echoed by Hafed Al-Ghwell, director of the North Africa, Mediterranean and the Sahel program at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Center. Al-Ghwell told DW he recently met with Algeria's foreign minister and members of the cabinet.

"You can sense very clearly that there is the political will at the highest level of government that Algeria needs to take advantage of what is happening globally as well as its unique position as a major gas producer," he said.

Algeria at key strategic crossroads

Algeria's value for Europe extends well beyond gas, Gower pointed out. "Algiers offers cooperation on counterterrorism, migration and Mediterranean stability," she told DW.

For years, Algeria has cooperated with European countries on migration management, including returns, border issues and combating smuggling networks.

Moreover, Algiers holds a distinctive diplomatic standing, maintaining relations with both Iran and the United States, as well as the Gulf countries, China and Russia. It is also located at a key strategic crossroads between North Africa and the Sahel region.

"President Tebboune has also placed renewed emphasis on African cooperation, reflecting Algeria's ambition to act as a bridge between North Africa, the Sahel and the wider continent," said Gower.

However, she also noted that this approach is a response to pressure. Algeria is increasingly isolated on the issue of Morocco's claim over the disputed Western Sahara territory. While Algeria supports the local Polisario Front in their quest for independence, Morocco considers Western Sahara part of its territory.

After US President Donald Trump recognized Morocco's sovereignty over the region in 2020, Spain, France and several African nations followed suit.

"Algiers' outreach also aims to preserve its regional influence amid growing Moroccan initiatives," observers wrote in a March analysis of the Institute for Security Studies.

The authors also highlighted that Algeria is a pivotal actor in the Sahel as it shares more than 2,280 kilometers (1,420 miles) of porous borders with Mali and Niger, and faces many of the same challenges, including terrorism, cross-border crime and irregular migration. "Reopening channels of dialogue would serve pressing security, economic and political interests for all."

Algiers has recently sought to repair ties with Mali and Niger. It also supports a political solution for its third large neighboring country, Libya, which remains de facto split in two administrative parts.

Domestic pressure

"A fundamental principle in political science is that foreign policy often reflects domestic politics," Toufik Bougaada, professor of political science at the University of Algiers, told DW.

In his view, this is true for Algeria's situation as well. The Stimson Center's Hafed Al-Ghwell also noted that Algeria is now able to leverage its current stability to address internal dynamics.

"Private sector investment from abroad could help create jobs and specifically address the high level of youth unemployment," he explained.

Algeria has not yet published an official 2026 youth unemployment rate. The latest available World Bank estimate puts youth unemployment at around 29–30%.

Moreover, after the country's longtime ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned following the Hirak pro-democracy protest movement in 2019, many of the movement's demands for greater political openness remain unmet. Algeria's political system remains controversial until this day.

According to the Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2026, hopes for reform in Algeria after the 2019 Hirak protests have largely faded, with the country having "largely reverted to pre-Arab Spring conditions." The Washington-based think tank Freedom House again classified Algeria as "Not Free" in its Freedom in the World 2026 report.

Recent assessments by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International describe Algeria as experiencing a continued contraction of civic space. HRW noted that the authorities continued prosecuting journalists, activists and online critics.

Gower therefore remains cautious. "Algeria's expanding geopolitical value has altered the balance of international engagement," she said, adding that "this gives Algeria greater scope to pursue its domestic agenda with reduced external pushback."