🇩🇿AlgeriaNorth Africa
OPEC Bulletin highlights Algeria's Tassili n’Ajjer as a natural masterpiece and open-air museum
via Algérie3603 min read
The OPEC Bulletin's May 2026 issue features Algeria's Tassili n’Ajjer, describing it as an "open-air museum" that reveals the history of humanity and Earth's transformations over millennia. This Saharan territory, spanning 72,000 km², is Africa's largest natural reserve and has been protected by UNESCO for over forty years. It holds works dating back nearly 10,000 years, from a period when the Sahara was green and populated by animals. The region's relief was formed over millions of years when it was covered by ancient seas during the Silurian and Devonian periods, resulting in a landscape of mineral labyrinths and spectacular canyons. Djanet serves as a starting point for exploring the park's key areas, including the Tassili plateau, the Tadrart Rouge reliefs, and the Iherir valley oasis. The site boasts over 15,000 identified paintings and engravings, testifying to the Sahara's evolution over 12 millennia, depicting extinct wild animals and symbolic figures. The pastoral period, around 4500-4000 BCE, saw the rise of livestock farming and the decline of hunting, leading to structured community life. The rock art also serves as a climate archive, with depictions of crocodiles, hippopotamuses, and giraffes indicating that between 12,000 and 7,000 years ago, the area was a lush savanna during the "African humid period." As rainfall decreased, wild fauna were replaced by domestic cattle, followed by horses, chariots, and eventually dromedaries. The Tassili n’Ajjer is managed by
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Must ReadDuring a three-day official visit to Turkey, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan co-chaired a signing ceremony for several strategic agreements and memorandums of understanding. These agreements aim to strengthen bilateral cooperation across various sectors. In media, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Algerian Radio and Turkish public television for expertise and content exchange. Economically, a memorandum of understanding was concluded between the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency and its Turkish counterpart to boost investment flows. The trade ministries also signed a joint declaration to begin negotiations for a preferential trade agreement. Cooperation extends to communication, with an agreement to combat media disinformation, and to agriculture, with an agreement on plant protection and agricultural quarantine. The industrial sector saw two memorandums of understanding on standardization, conformity assessment, training, and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Additional agreements cover disaster and emergency management, mutual recognition of driving licenses, and international road transport of passengers and goods. Cooperation also includes postal services and telecommunications, as well as an agreement concerning veterans and the rights of martyrs' beneficiaries. The visit culminated in the two heads of state signing a joint declaration marking the first meeting of the High-Level Str
Following European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica's official visit to Algiers, the European Union Ambassador to Algeria, Diego Mellado Pascua, held a briefing for Algerian journalists. He stated that Commissioner Šuica's visit reflected a high level of coordination between the EU and Algeria, highlighting Algeria's increasing importance in European considerations amid rapid international changes. Discussions covered strengthening economic partnership, supporting political dialogue, security, energy, and migration management, marking a pivotal step in consolidating a common vision across the Mediterranean. On energy, Ambassador Mellado Pascua reaffirmed Algeria's status as a strategic partner for Europe's energy security, crucial for diversifying supply sources and reducing reliance on Russian gas. Future cooperation extends beyond traditional hydrocarbons to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green hydrogen, including continental projects like the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline. Mellado Pascua emphasized modernizing trade relations through new mechanisms like the Mediterranean Pact to integrate Algeria into European value chains, attract foreign direct investments, and boost European industrial presence in Algeria. The partnership also includes legal mobility, professional training, scientific research, and technology transfer, with European financial institutions funding infrastructure projects. The EU recognizes Algeria's role as a "guardian of stabilit
Mourad Hanifi, the Minister of Mines, inaugurated a dolomite transformation unit in Ouled Hamla, Algeria, marking a strategic shift from an extraction-based economy to a value-added processing industry. The inauguration coincided with the 60th anniversary of the nationalization of mines and the 59th anniversary of SONAREM's creation. Accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Secretary of State Karima Bakir Tafer, the Minister officially launched the Tioulet dolomite transformation unit. This facility aims to process raw materials locally, creating wealth and employment. Utilizing the open-pit Tioult deposit, which holds over 43 million tons of geological reserves, the project has an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons of micronized and calcined dolomite. This unit will serve as a strategic supplier for vital sectors such as steel, glass, fertilizer, and construction industries, while also creating 120 direct jobs in the region. By producing transformed dolomite domestically, Algeria intends to meet national market demands, particularly for its steel complexes and glass factories, thereby reducing import costs and strengthening industrial integration. The Minister emphasized that this project is part of a broader economic revitalization, with the restructured mining sector accelerating other national projects like Gara Djebilet iron, the integrated phosphate project, and the Tala Hamza zinc mine. Hanifi also highlighted that the nationalization of mines 60 years
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