At France's request, India blocks Algeria's BRICS+ bid

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Dzair Tube
29 Aug 2023 20:26
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Indian interests jelled with those of France at the BRICS+ summit in Johannesburg blocking Algeria's accession into the economic bloc.

France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) wave prior to attending a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris on July 14, 2023 (AFP)

India vetoed Algeria's accession into the BRICS group at France's request at the transnational bloc's summit last week in Johannesburg, The Cradle reported citing Algeria's Dzair Tube.

Algeria was among four other Arab countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia believed to have a good shot of joining BRICS+ at last week's summit, all of which were sent invitations to join the group as of 2024, excluding Algeria.

The Algerian news agency, citing informed sources, said India blocked Algeria's path to joining BRICS+ after French officials contacted New Dehli urging it to use its veto power during the meeting.

According to Dzair Tube, France sought to take its "revenge" on Algiers that was "increasing its influence in the Sahel region at the expense of France's standing."

This notion could be traced back to Algeria's support of the military junta that led a coup against French and Western-backed President Mohamed Bazoum, late in July, not to mention Algeria's firm stance on eradicating the remnants of French colonialism from Algerian cultural heritage.

"The relations between the two countries need — in order to cool down — France to liberate itself from its colonizer complex and Algeria from its colonized complex," Tebboune said in an interview for Le Figaro in December 2022.

Reports also indicate that Algeria rejected France's request to use its airspace for a military attack on Niger's leaders. The Algerian state radio said France was considering a strike against the new army leadership in Niamey if they did not release Bazoum, who has been detained since July 26.

In response to Algeria's refusal, France reportedly sought permission from Morocco to allow its military aircraft to traverse Moroccan airspace.

China-India interests clash at BRICS

China sees Algeria as a partner in North Africa, as it is an energy giant, holds minimal national debt, and is poised at a geographically strategic position linking Europe to Africa through the Port of Al-Hamdania which Beijing is rehabilitating as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

On the other hand, India took the opportunity presented to it by France after it was offered Western aid to "fill the void" left in former French colonies, which would allow India to extend its influence in West Africa, according to Dzair Tube.

India's use of its veto power has been described as irrational, as it singled out Algeria from a number of states that had applied to join BRICS+. This, in turn, led to an exchange between Chinese and Indian representatives at Johannesburg, seeing that China was one of Algeria's biggest backers at the summit.

It is worth noting that French President Emmanuel Macron's request to attend the BRICS summit in South Africa was rejected as he was not included among the heads of 70 nations who were invited to the unification meeting.