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Showing posts with the label MOROCCO

TSGP: The Trans‑Saharan Pipeline and the Emerging Geopolitical Map of Africa

The Trans‑Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP)—linking Nigeria to Algeria through Niger —is no longer merely an engineering undertaking. It has evolved into one of the most strategically charged energy corridors on the African continent . By connecting West Africa’s vast gas reserves to Europe through Algerian export networks, the project is shaping a new geopolitical geography at a moment when global energy markets are undergoing profound restructuring. Recent statements by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confirmed that construction will begin immediately after Ramadan , marking a decisive shift from planning to execution.  1. A Continental Energy Corridor With Global Stakes Technically, the TSGP is designed to transport up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year , running more than 4,000 km from southern Nigeria to Algeria’s Hassi R’Mel hub . Once it reaches Algeria, Nigerian gas would be injected into existing export routes such as Medgaz , TransMed , and potentially LNG ...

From the MiG-25 era to the consolidation of a regional power: Algeria's strategic trajectory

Since the late 1970s, Algeria has undertaken a methodical transformation of its military apparatus, a shift that has deeply shaped the strategic balance in the Maghreb. The entry into service of the Mikoyan‑Gurevich MiG‑25 within the People’s National Army (ANP) marked a decisive turning point. At the time, this supersonic interceptor—capable of flying at very high altitudes and reaching speeds close to Mach 3—introduced a major technological breakthrough in the region. This choice was neither symbolic nor circumstantial. It reflected a long-term strategic vision: ensuring durable qualitative superiority based on deterrence and autonomy. Continuous Modernization: From Classical Deterrence to the Advanced Generation The acquisition of the MiG‑25 was only the starting point of a cumulative dynamic. Algeria gradually consolidated all dimensions of its military power. The introduction of the Sukhoi Su‑30MKA marked a major leap in operational versatility: air superiority, ground attack, a...

Western Sahara: The Illusion of Victory and the Reality of Power Dynamics

For several months, a deliberate campaign has sought to impose a simple idea: the question of Western Sahara is settled, sealed, irreversible. Morocco, we are told, is no longer negotiating anything; it is merely formalizing a sovereignty already acquired. Washington’s mission, according to this narrative, would be to persuade the Polisario Front to place its signature at the bottom of an agreement whose terms are supposedly already written. This staging aims to produce a psychological effect: to create the impression that history has already ended. Yet in diplomacy, declaring a conflict resolved does not resolve it. Rhetoric may precede reality; it never replaces it. Resolution 2797: A Diplomatic Instrument, Not a Blank Check Resolution 2797 is presented as the definitive consecration of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty . But a strategic reading suggests something quite different. The Security Council: describes the Moroccan initiative as “serious and credible”; calls for a poli...

In one week, Algeria erased ten years of Moroccan mirages in Africa

Since its return to the African Union, Morocco has multiplied grandiose announcements meant to illustrate a renewed pan‑African ambition. Yet these projects, often presented as engines of South‑South integration, struggle to move beyond the realm of communication and end up resembling one another in their lack of concrete implementation. Among these initiatives are: – the promise to build a capital city for South Sudan; – the Nigeria–Morocco gas pipeline project; – an Atlantic access corridor intended for Sahel countries; – and an electric cable supposedly meant to link Morocco to the United Kingdom, even though the country remains structurally dependent on electricity imports from Spain. In this context, President Tebboune’s announcement of the effective start of construction works on the Algeria–Niger–Nigeria gas pipeline, on Nigerien territory, marks a major turning point and significantly reduces the scope of the competing project promoted by Rabat. General Tiani’s visit to Algiers...

Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline: Algeria locks down the project, the Nigeria-Morocco project fades away

The announcement made by Abdelmadjid Tebboune regarding the effective launch of the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline linking Nigeria to Algeria via Niger marks a major strategic turning point in the continent’s energy geopolitics. By specifying that construction on Nigerien territory will begin immediately after the month of Ramadan, the President has sent a clear and unmistakable signal: the competing Nigeria–Morocco project now firmly belongs to the past. It is worth recalling that Algeria has already completed the section of the route located on its own territory, bringing the infrastructure all the way to the Niger border at In Guezzam—demonstrating both its preparedness and its determination to bring this large-scale energy corridor to fruition. A strong political signal This presidential announcement is not just another technical statement. It comes at a moment of global energy realignment, as Europe searches for reliable alternatives to Russian gas and energy routes increasingly...

Opening up the Sahel: between Moroccan announcements and Algerian structural strategy

The question of opening up the landlocked Sahel states — primarily Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso — has become a clear arena of geo‑economic competition in North Africa. While Morocco has intensified a media campaign promoting an initiative to grant these countries access to the Atlantic through ports located in Western Sahara , Algeria is quietly developing a genuine logistical depth by linking its Mediterranean ports to Tamanrasset , transforming it into the Sahel’s gateway to the world. The essential question is not who raises the slogan, but who actually possesses the technical, political, and financial capacity to turn it into reality. I. The Moroccan Initiative: Appealing Rhetoric, Troubling Realities At first glance, Morocco’s proposal seems attractive: an African‑solidarity narrative that promises landlocked countries a path to the Atlantic. But a closer look reveals significant structural obstacles. 1. The Infrastructure and Financing Dilemma The initiative envisions connect...

Western Sahara: France's major strategic error in the face of a vital Algerian interest and Moroccan expansionist ambitions

France’s decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara is neither a mere diplomatic adjustment nor an act of pragmatic realism. It is a profound strategic miscalculation—one that reflects a flawed understanding of power dynamics in the Maghreb and a significant misreading of the Algerian state , its vital interests, and its stabilizing role in the region. In seeking what it perceived as a comfortable partnership with Rabat, Paris underestimated a fundamental reality: Western Sahara represents an absolute red line for Algeria , touching simultaneously upon its historical doctrine, its national security, and the regional balance of power in the face of Moroccan territorial ambitions . I. Western Sahara: Algeria’s Non‑Negotiable Vital Interest Contrary to the dominant European view, which reduces Western Sahara to a localized territorial dispute, Algeria regards it as an existential issue embedded in its post‑independence strategic doctrine. 1. A doctrinal constant root...

Western Sahara: Resolution 2797, the Autonomy Illusion, and the Reality of Sovereignty

Since the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2797 , the Western Sahara file has entered a new phase—one marked less by legal progress than by an intensified battle of narratives. Morocco, supported by certain Western diplomatic circles, has sought to portray its autonomy plan as a definitive, irreversible solution endowed with international legitimacy. Yet a careful reading of the resolution, combined with a strict application of international law , reveals a far more sobering reality: the conflict remains legally unresolved, and Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara has never been established.   Official and unofficial accounts of the Madrid talks converge on a fundamental point often obscured by Moroccan discourse: the United States failed to impose the autonomy plan as the sole outcome of the negotiations. The Sahrawi side , backed by Algeria, maintained a firm and principled stance centered on the right to self-determination as the cornerstone of any ...