Algeria’s ambassador to the US on new bilateral military plans: ‘The sky is the limit’

Defense and military representatives from the U.S. and Algeria are getting set to participate in official working groups and design near-term implementation plans for the countries’ newly formalized deal to deepen security partnerships, according to a top official involved.

Sabri Boukadoum, Algeria’s ambassador to the United States, shed new light on that upcoming coordination session during a conversation with two reporters at the nation’s embassy in D.C. this week.

He also discussed Algeria’s aims to strengthen its security and economic ties with America during the second Trump administration and emerging opportunities for defense technology-enabling collaboration.

“We have a military dialogue that’s been going on for years now. So, the [Algeria-U.S. memorandum of understanding] just put a legal framework in our cooperation and it opens up the door for so many other things in the future,” Boukadoum told DefenseScoop.

Maritime intelligence exchanges and new foreign military sales are early areas of interest for the counterparts to pursue together. Others include search and rescue operations and counterterrorism efforts in and around the Sahel, he noted.

Military leaders from both nations signed the MOU on Jan. 22, after years of negotiation. Broadly, the agreement represents the countries’ official commitment to promote closer bilateral collaboration between their troops.

Boukadoum couldn’t immediately share updates regarding potential forthcoming foreign military sales. However, he confirmed that representatives from the U.S. and Algeria are forming three new working groups to establish the MOU implementation plan and define their next steps.

“The sky is the limit,” the ambassador said when asked about what Algeria is looking to prioritize in this military cooperation expansion.

The launch of this new MOU is unfolding at a time when the physical presence of American troops across the African continent is shrinking in some areas. At the same time, the ambassador suggested, influence, engagement and investments from Russia and China are palpably extending across the region.

“The advantage of the Algerians [for the U.S] is that we have the human factor” by being on the ground in northern Africa, Boukadoum said.

“Eavesdropping, and satellites, and all those things” are crucial to America’s security operations abroad, he said. But in Boukadoum’s view, “you need to know the people — the tribes and all the interactions between themselves — you’ve got to have the human information.”

Algeria, the largest nation in Africa, extends from the Mediterranean coast into the Sahara desert. 

Its population is young, the ambassador noted. He estimated more than 70 percent of its citizens are currently under the age of 30. The nation declared its independence in 1962 following more than 130 years of French occupation. From about 1992 to 2002, Algeria’s government and multiple Islamist rebel groups fought in a deadly civil war. More recently, tensions between Algeria and Morocco have intensified.

Boukadoum said that, today, the country is moving to attract more international tourism than ever in its history. 

Beyond initiatives fostered through the new MOU, Boukadoum said Algeria is “ready to talk” to the U.S. about its abundant natural and critical mineral resources that are globally in-demand. The nation is ripe to host data centers “for cheaper” than current options, he also noted.

And although the new MOU largely came together under the Biden administration, he expressed confidence that U.S.-Algeria relations will remain strong during President Donald Trump’s second term. 

“Let me say very clearly, as a foreign diplomat, do not forget that we do not have preferences. So we work with [every] administration. Of course, we try to sell our potential to the new one. With President Trump, he’s said that he’s for deals. So, we’ll try to [help the administration] see the advantages in going with Algeria,” Boukadoum said.