Algeria will increase its gas supply to Slovenia under a contract extension signed as Prime Minister Robert Golob visited the country on 27 May. Slovenia also opened its embassy in Algiers on the occasion.

"The cooperation between the two friendly nations will improve further," Golob said after meeting his counterpart Nadir Larbaoui and the country's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

The two prime ministers noted the good economic, scientific and political relations, calling for deepening the relationship further. On the occasion the countries signed three agreements.

Gas supply increasing by 66%

Slovenia's largest gas supplier Geoplin and Algeria's state-owned energy company Sonatrach signed an annex to their gas supply contract under which Algeria's natural gas supply to Slovenia will increase by an additional 200 million cubic meters per year or by more than 66% starting from 2026, after the current contract has expired.

Minister of the Environment, Climate and Energy Bojan Kumer, who accompanied Golob during the visit, said in this way Algerian gas would meet roughly 50% of Slovenia's needs, up from roughly 30%.

Slovenia used to import around one-third of its gas from Algeria, but after 2012 it started relying on Russian gas. That changed with the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, and Slovenia turned to Algeria once again.

The two countries also signed an agreement on short-stay visa waiver for holders of diplomatic and service passports and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in artificial intelligence.

Slovenia's third embassy in Africa

As Slovenia officially opened its embassy in Algiers, Golob expressed the hope "that Algeria will open its embassy in Ljubljana in the autumn".

Slovenia first appointed Bogdan Batič as a chargée d'affaires ad interim to Algeria in October 2023 to launch the process of opening the embassy.

It is Slovenia's third embassy in Africa, joining those in Cairo, Egypt, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Algeria currently covers Slovenia from its embassy in Budapest, Hungary.

Cooperation in UN Security Council

As both Slovenia and Algeria currently serve as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, their cooperation in the body was an important topic on the agenda.

Golob and the Algerian officials also discussed the situation in Gaza. Golob and Tebboune agreed that freedom is a core value that always has to be advocated for in the international community, including when it comes to the right to self-determination.

"It is this right to freedom that joins Algeria and Slovenia in their efforts in New York in the UN Security Council," said Golob. He invited the Algerian president to visit Slovenia.