Algeria Moves to Terminate UAE Air Services Deal

By Al Mayadeen English

7 Feb 2026 19:48

Algeria has initiated formal steps to end its 2013 air services agreement with the UAE, citing diplomatic protocols.

Algeria has begun formal steps to terminate its air services agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), originally signed in Abu Dhabi in May 2013, state media reported Saturday.

The state-owned radio said Algeria has notified the UAE through diplomatic channels in line with Article 22 of the agreement and will also inform the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to complete the necessary procedures. No reason was immediately given for the move, and the UAE has yet to comment.

Algerian media have recently criticized the UAE, accusing it of attempting to stir regional discord. Last October, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune appeared to target the UAE indirectly, praising ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar as "brotherly" while accusing an unnamed Gulf country of interfering in Algeria's internal affairs.

The termination of the agreement marks a rare diplomatic setback between Algiers and Abu Dhabi, highlighting growing strains in bilateral relations after years of underlying tensions.

Algeria calls out the UAE

In early May 2025, Algerian public television described the United Arab Emirates as an “artificial state … a factory of sedition and a source of ideological toxins,” accusing it of attempting to “undermine the unity and identity of the Algerian people,” according to Yabiladi.

The same broadcast warned that the UAE had “crossed all red lines” and was engaging in a “dangerous media escalation” targeting Algerian values, sovereignty, and shared national destiny, highlighting the intensity of the rhetoric used by Algerian public television.

Concerns over regional influence were also raised, as Watanserb reported on May 22, 2025, that Algerian commentators viewed UAE diplomatic and economic activity in the Sahel, including in Mali and Niger, as an encroachment on Algeria’s strategic sphere of influence.

The same Watanserb article quoted El Khabar newspaper claiming that UAE support for regional actors and regimes was seen as hostile to Algeria’s interests, further amplifying perceptions of interference even in the absence of publicly documented actions.