Pedro Sánchez is due to arrive in Algiers this Monday for talks to repair Spain’s relationship with Algeria after more than two years of diplomatic tension. The Spanish prime minister will seek to negotiate increased gas supplies, a priority for both countries since the 2022 fallout over Spain’s support for Morocco’s position on the Western Sahara.
Sánchez will meet Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb and President Abdelmayid Tebún, accompanied by senior Spanish officials, including Vice President for Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen and Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. The delegation also includes top executives from Naturgy, Moeve, Repsol and Enagás, reflecting the economic stakes of the trip. Sánchez is traveling directly from New York, where he attended the football World Cup final.
Algeria remains Spain’s largest gas supplier, accounting for roughly a third of its total imports. Spain is Algeria’s second-biggest gas customer after Italy. Figures attributed to Enagás in a 2026 market overview put Algeria’s share at nearly 35% of Spain’s gas supply in the 12 months to July, with most deliveries arriving through Medgaz. Separately, Algerian pipeline exports to Spain rose 12% from January to September 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Sources at La Moncloa say both governments see room to increase deliveries, particularly through the Medgaz pipeline linking Algeria and Almería, which currently has 10% spare capacity. There is also potential to double purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG). State-owned Sonatrach and Spain’s Naturgy have long-term contracts running until 2030 and jointly operate the Medgaz pipeline. Sonatrach also holds a historic 4% stake in Naturgy.
The immediate supply picture adds urgency to the energy discussions. Argus reported on 21 October that Algerian pipeline deliveries through the Almería entry point averaged 211 GWh a day during October, about one-third below the 322 GWh/d average for the rest of 2026 and the 324 GWh/d recorded in October 2025. The decline followed a four-day Medgaz maintenance stoppage from 18 to 21 September; flows outside that interruption averaged 315 GWh/d in September. Medgaz’s maintenance schedule included October work, with a notice referring to “TK20 OVH” at “BSCS,” potentially an overhaul at the Beni Saf compressor station. Spanish companies increased LNG imports as pipeline deliveries fell. The market report said the cause of October’s decline was unclear, so the change in flows does not, on its own, establish a political explanation.
The talks are expected to set a new structure for cooperation, with political guidelines in place before technical negotiations begin. Sánchez plans to encourage Spanish companies to invest in Algeria and urge Algerian authorities to offer favorable conditions to Spanish firms bidding on public contracts. Issues on the table include delayed payments to Spanish companies involved in public works, such as Duró Felguera, Técnicas Reunidas, Idom and Elenor, as well as opportunities in water supply, food, railways, engineering and defense.
Alongside energy, the agenda covers regional security and migration. The sides will discuss the situation in the Sahel, where military juntas have failed to contain jihadist expansion, as well as migration flows. Algeria’s cooperation on migration is noted, but arrivals to mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands rose by over 10% in the first five months of the year, while arrivals to the Canary Islands fell sharply. The Sahara issue is not officially on the agenda, though sources do not rule out Algerian officials raising it. Spain’s position remains aligned with the latest UN Security Council resolution.
Reconciliation has proceeded gradually. Algeria sent its new ambassador, Abdelfetah Daghmoum, to Madrid in December 2023. In March, Albares visited Algiers, where President Tebún announced the reactivation of the bilateral friendship treaty, frozen at the height of the crisis. In June, Spain was honored as the guest country at the Algiers International Fair (FIA), a gesture President Tebún described as a sign of restored trust.
Spain is seeking to stabilize its energy supply and diplomatic relations with Algeria amid heightened global uncertainty. Reliable gas imports have become more impressive as European countries look for alternatives to Russian energy. Operational since 2011, the Medgaz pipeline remains a strategic asset for Spain’s energy security. RUSSPAIN has also reported increased scrutiny of recent developments in Spanish foreign policy, including the ongoing debate over PSOE leadership, explored in coverage of internal party tensions.
For Spanish businesses, normalized ties with Algeria could open the way to new contracts and settle longstanding payment disputes. Securing additional gas supplies is a government priority as domestic demand fluctuates and the energy transition accelerates. The energy sector and diplomatic observers will closely watch Sánchez’s visit, whose outcome may shape Spain’s broader engagement in North Africa and the Mediterranean.
