The Algerian president has decided not to attend the extraordinary Arab League summit scheduled for Tuesday, March 4, in Cairo, APS reported on Sunday, citing a «well-informed source». Instead, Algeria will be represented at the summit by its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf. The meeting is set to focus on formulating an Arab response to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza. According to the same source, President Tebboune's decision stems from «imbalances» and «shortcomings» in the summit's preparations, which were allegedly «monopolized by a small, restricted group of Arab countries (...) without coordination with the rest of the Arab states». Notably, Algeria was excluded from the mini-Arab summit held on February 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which brought together eight Arab nations. Furthermore, it was not invited to this week's Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers' meeting in Mecca, unlike representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Morocco. These gatherings aim to establish a unified Arab response to the U.S. proposal regarding the potential relocation of Palestinians to regional states, particularly Egypt and Jordan. Trump had already discussed the issue with King Abdullah II at the White House on February 12. This latest development follows Algeria's decision to downgrade its representation at the Saudi Arabia-Africa summit in Riyadh in November 2023, in protest over the exclusion of the Polisario.
