Speech of the Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad, and African Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Attaf

Your Excellency Mr. Mohamad Bin Hasan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia,

Your Excellency Dr. Kao KIM HOURN, Secretary-General of ASEAN,

Your Excellencies Ministers of Foreign Affairs and distinguished representatives of ASEAN’s Member States,

Your Excellency Mr. Mario Lubetkin, Minister of Foreign relations of Uruguay,

Excellencies, ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great privilege for me to stand before you today, as my country has formalized its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Government of Malaysia for hosting this signing ceremony and for the warm hospitality extended to me and to my delegation. I wish also to convey my deepest appreciation to all ASEAN Member States for welcoming Algeria’s bid and for supporting its accession to this important Treaty.

Today marks a significant milestone in Algeria’s relations with ASEAN. We are truly honored to join the community of nations that are party to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, a community which can be fairly described as the broader ASEAN family.

Algeria’s willingness to become part of this esteemed family is grounded in several considerations, which I would like to briefly emphasize in three main motivations:

Firstly, our decision to join this family is rooted in a profound admiration for ASEAN, an organization that has ably shown, through actions, results and achievements, how regional cooperation can drive transformation, foster stability, and generate shared prosperity for all. From our part of the world, we regard ASEAN as a remarkable model of regional integration, a model that can rightly inspire similar efforts worldwide, particularly on the African continent.

Secondly, we are driven by a strong desire to strengthen the longstanding ties of friendship and cooperation that Algeria has been privileged to enjoy with each and every ASEAN Member State. By joining the TAC today, we seek to add a new dimension to these bilateral relations, a dimension that includes ASEAN as a united bloc, whose collective voice and positive influence continue to grow on the global stage. In this spirit, we also aspire to deepen our engagement with ASEAN by becoming a Sectoral Dialogue Partner, and we kindly seek your invalubale support to that effect.

Thirdly and lastly, we take special pride in sharing with all ASEAN Member States a steadfast commitment to the principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, principles that are equally enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. These principles, that are deeply rooted in the respect for international law, form the very foundations of Algeria’s foreign policy. They have shaped my country’s external identity. And, they continue to guide its actions and positions at the international level.

I am sure we can all agree that our world is in urgent need of a renewed commitment to these principles, especially in light of the deeply troubling patterns that are unfolding before us:

Of great concern among these developements is the growing tendency to openly resort to the use of force, in defiance of all established norms and rules;

Of even greater concern is the increasing inclination to deliberately violate international law, including the core principles of the UN Charter;

And of gravest concern is the progressive marginalization of the United Nations and near-paralysis of the Security Council itself.

In the face of these developments that are reshaping the global landscape:

Algeria is committed to working alongside ASEAN in advocating for the values of peace, mutual respect, and genuine cooperation.

Algeria is also committed to joining hands with ASEAN in promoting respect for international law, including the principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

Algeria is finally committed to closely coordinating with ASEAN towards ensuring that diplomacy takes precedence over confrontation, that law triumphs over force, and that multilateralism prevails over unilateralism. This is the only way forward to achieve a peaceful and prosperous future for all mankind.

I thank you.