By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Africa’s top gas exporter, Algeria, has announced a one billion dollars allocation to finance projects across the continent through its Agency of International Cooperation for Solidarity and Development.
The country’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced this financial intervention on Sunday in a speech read by his Prime Minister, Aimene Benabderrahmane at the annual African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The North African nation said attention would be paid to “integration projects or those able to contribute to accelerating development in Africa”.
“I have decided to inject one billion US dollars for the benefit of the Algerian Agency of International Cooperation for Solidarity and Development to finance development projects in African countries,” the speech, part of which was published by APS news read.
Tebboune said the agency’s approach was based on Algeria’s conviction that “security and stability in Africa are linked to development”.
According to APS news report, the government agency, established in 2020, would coordinate with African nations seeking to benefit from the initiative on mode of disbursement.
At the start of the the two-day 36th annual AU Summit, Algeria and South Africa were accused of holding the continent to ransom by Beijing after the ejection of a Chinese envoy, Ms. Sharon Bar-Li at the meeting.
She was accused of not being properly documented and accredited to participate as an observer at the summit and walked out of the summit auditorium, a development China blamed on Algeria and South Africa.
