Algeria names new envoy to Syria as ties warm after Assad's fall

Algeria has appointed a new ambassador to Syria as part of its efforts to re-establish relations with Damascus following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Veteran diplomat Abdelkader Kacemi El-Husseini was named Algeria’s new envoy to Syria, arriving from Kuwait, where he had served as ambassador. He replaces Kamal Bouchama, who was transferred to Beirut shortly after Assad’s fall and less than a year after his appointment in Damascus.

The diplomatic move is part of a wider Algerian strategy to recalibrate its ties with Syria’s new government, distancing itself from perceptions that it had supported the Assad regime.

Algeria offers political support to Damascus 

That effort began in mid-February, when Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf visited Damascus for the first time since Assad’s removal and met with Syria’s new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa.

During that visit, Attaf offered Algeria’s political support to Damascus, including possible initiatives at the United Nations Security Council, where Algeria currently holds a non-permanent seat, to push for the lifting of international sanctions and to defend Syria’s interests against continued Israeli aggression.

As part of that same diplomatic campaign, Attaf met again with his Syrian counterpart, Assad Hassan al-Sheibani, in Istanbul on Sunday on the sidelines of the 51st session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers.

A statement from Algeria's foreign ministry said the two sides discussed "ways to follow through on Algeria’s commitments to support and accompany Syria through this sensitive period in its history, whether via the UN Security Council or through strengthened bilateral cooperation in priority sectors".

One such area is electricity. Algeria's energy ministry has deployed a technical team from the state-owned utility Sonelgaz to Syria to help rehabilitate the country’s war-damaged power infrastructure.

The team of engineers and experts arrived in Damascus last week to assess the state of the Syrian electricity network.

The move followed talks last week between Algerian Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab and his Syrian counterpart Mohammad al-Bashir.

The Algerian team carried out diagnostics to prepare a detailed action plan to restore and upgrade Syria’s electricity production, distribution, and transmission systems.