„Trajno partnerstvo koje neprekidno napreduje“

Ove godine je Vaša Ambasada po prvi put bila pozvana da pošalje ekipu iz Srbije na novinarsku turu po Alžiru. Da li to znači da je Alžir zainteresovan da promoviše turizam sa Srbijom i ukaže na Alžir, kao turističku destinaciju?
Pre svega želim da se zahvalim Vama, i Vašem uglednom magazinu „Diplomacy and Commerce“, što ste prihvatili poziv koji je uputila Nacionalna organizacija za turizam i putovanja (Office National du Tourisme et des voyages (ONT) da posetite Alžir u okviru novinarske ture, koja je organizovana na marginama 22. izdanja Međunarodnog salona turizma (SITEV) u Alžiru, septembra 2023.
SITEV je jedna od najznačajnijih turističkih manifestacija koja se organizuje u Alžiru i koja svake godine okuplja domaće i inostrane profesionalce, organizacije i institucije koji se bave turizmom, kako bi predstavili svoju ponudu i uspostavili poslovne veze. Ovaj Salon se nalazi i u agendi Svetske turističke organizacije.
Vaš boravak u Alžiru je zapravo bilo putovanje upoznavanja, mogućnost da otkrijete samo jedan mali deo njegovih nebrojenih turističkih potencijala i da se obavestite o mnogobrojnim poslovnim prilikama koje ovaj sektor nudi, zahvaljujući novom pravnom okviru koji ga uokviruje.
Naša zemlja poslednjih godina beleži značajan priliv stranih turista na Velikom jugu (the Great South). Kulturni park Tasilija (Tassili) je na primer, trenutno veoma cenjena destinacija. UNESCO ga je, 1982. godine, upisao na listu svetske kulturne baštine, a 1986. i kao rezervat biosfere. Po broju pećinskih crteža, on je najveći lokalitet na svetu.
Želim da podsetim da Vaše putovanje, na kome su bila još tri profesionalca iz Srbije, nije ni izbliza prva aktivnost u okviru saradnje koja ima za cilj upoznavanje sa destinacijom Alžir.
Naša zemlja je u prošlosti već bila prisutna na beogradskom Međunarodnom sajmu turizma. Naše poslednje učešće bilo je februara 2023. Pored velike posećenosti alžirskom štandu, Ambasada je tom prilikom, koordinisala i uspešne susrete alžirske delegacije sa srpskim visokim zvaničnicima i profesionalcima u turizmu, kako bi se sagledali načini za razvoj razmene u ovoj oblasti. Mnogobrojni posetioci i turističke agencije iz Srbije pokazali su veliko interesovanje za Alžir kao novu turističku destinaciju.
Alžir je svestan da je turizam važan pokretač privrednog rasta i zbog toga poslednjih godina radi na strategiji za jačanje diverzifikacije svoje privrede, promovišući ovaj sektor i oslanjajući se na njegove glavne adute, a to su: još uvek netaknuti i očuvani prirodni lokaliteti; impresivan i nedovoljno poznat turistički, istorijski i kulturni potencijal, i moderna turistička i hotelska infrastruktura, pri čemu ova strategija vodi računa i o zaštiti životne sredine.

Pored razvoja turizma, da li dve zemlje sarađuju i u drugim oblastima? Kolika je trgovinska razmena između Alžira i Srbije? Srpska prehrambena industrija je zainteresovana da svoje proizvode plasira na alžirsko tržište. Da li je ono otvoreno za srpske kompanije i koji proizvodi bi mogli da se plasiraju u skoroj budućnosti?
Dozvolite mi da ukratko kažem par reči o kvalitetu istorijskih odnosa između naše dve zemlje, koje karakteriše prijateljstvo i solidarnost između naša dva naroda, a koji su začeti čak pre nezavisnosti moje zemlje, u vreme kada su bivša Jugoslavija i njeni narodi pružili dragocenu i raznovrsnu pomoć borbi za nacionalno oslobođenje. Godine 1959. bivša Jugoslavija je bila prva evropska zemlja koja je priznala privremenu Vladu Alžira. Od tada, su to prijateljstvo i ta solidarnost jačali što je omogućilo pokretanje multidisciplimarne saradnje, koja je bila korisna u radu koji je moja zemlja po sticanju nezavisnosti uložila u obnovu i razvoj.
Mnoga srpska preduzeća su u tome aktivno učestvovala. Ona su i dalje prisutna u mojoj zemlji, gde rade na mnogim projektima u okviru privrednog, industrijskog i trgovinskog partnerstva u raznim oblastima, kao što su hidraulika, vodoprivreda, građevinarstvo, ili elektroenergetika, da navedem samo najvažnije.
Alžir je od tada postao najveći arapski i afrički ekonomski i komercijalni partner Srbije, sa zavidnim obimom trgovine koji stalno raste. Trgovinski bilans trenutno pokazuje veliki suficit u korist Srbije. Ovu razmenu u najvećoj meri čine poljoprivredno-prehrambeni proizvodi. Veliki potencijal koji imaju privrede naše dve zemlje nije u potpunosti iskorišćen. Naše dve zemlje rade na stvaranju svih uslova za povećanje razmene, posebno kroz ažuriranje bilateralnih sporazuma.
Da bi se ovakva situacija popravila, ove godine su održani bilateralni sastanci na visokom nivou. Na sastanku dva ministra spoljnih poslova, gospodina Ivice Dačića i gospodina Ahmeda Atafa, juna meseca u Beogradu, utvrđena je mapa puta za oživljavanje i proširenje razmene. Tako da su i kratkoročno i srednjoročno, planirani kako politički susreti na veoma visokom nivou, tako i privredni, s ciljem da se unese nova dinamika u razvoj ekonomske, naučne i tehničke saradnje.
Što se tiče sektora poljoprivrede, Srbija zaista ima neosporno znanje za koje je Alžir, koji poslednjih godina sprovodi velike projekte razvoja poljoprivrede, zainteresovan. Stručnost Srbije, posebno u istraživanju i razvoju, mogla bi da doprinese alžirskom poljoprivrednom sektoru novim procesima i tehnologijama, kojima bi se kvalitet određenih proizvoda, posebno semena unapredio.

U kojoj meri će direktna avionska linija doprineti povećanju privredne i turističke razmene?
Jasno je da je velika prednost da destinacija bude dostupna vazdušnim putem. Simbioza između vazdušnog saobraćaja i turizma zaista postoji. Prednosti vazdušnog saobraćaja su, takođe, suštinski važne za razvoj ekonomske i trgovinske razmene. Stoga je izvesno da bi ponovno otvaranje direktne avio-linije Alžir-Beograd, doprinelo kako povećanju turističke razmene sa obe strane, tako bi i olakšalo poslovne mogućnosti između dve zemlje. Zahvaljujući direktnom letu, državljani obe zemlje moći će da uštede i vreme i novac.
Uskoro bi trebalo da otpočnu razgovori između stručnjaka dve zemlje u cilju realizacije ovog projekta, koji bi, indirektno, doprineo i jačanju uloge Beograda kao regionalnog vazdušnog čvorišta.

Da li su srpski turoperatori zainteresovani za organizovanje putovanja u Alžir? Šta biste građanima Srbije naveli kao razloge zbog kojih treba da posete Alžir?
Bilo bi mi potrebno više desetina intervjua da nabrojim brojne turističke aspekte Alžira. Zato ću navesti samo neke od njih. Pre svega, Alžir je najveća zemlja mediteranskog basena, Afrike i arapskog sveta. U njemu se nalaze preistorijski arheološki lokaliteti, ako što su pećinski crteži Tasilije, najvećieg muzeja na otvorenom u svetu.
Alžir uživa blagu mediteransku klimu, ali su geografski i klimatski kontrasti toliko impresivni da ima perioda kada turisti, ljubitelji ribolova ili nautičkih sportova, mogu da u istom danu, sa plaže odu na skijališta Chréa ili Tikjda, čiji su snežni vrhovi, na oko 40km od obale.
Smešten na raskršću više civilizacija (rimske, vizantijske, muslimanske, otomanske), Alžir nije samo cenjena turistička destinacija zbog svojih divnih pejzaža, već i zbog svog bogatog kulturnog i istorijskog nasleđa. Mnogobrojni arheološki i kulturni lokaliteti upisani su na listu svetske kulturne baštine UNESCO-a, kao što su Timgad, Djemila, Tipaza, Casbah, i dolina M'Zab sa njenim oazama i ksours, pustinjskim dvorcima neobične drevne arhitekture. Alžir ima i brojne jedinstvene lokalitete koje je nemoguće nabrojati u ovom kratkom intervjuu.

A kako biste pozvali Alžirce u Srbiju – šta Vam se ovde najviše dopada i šta biste preporučili Vašim sunarodnicima?
Rekao bih im na je Srbija zemlja koja se nalazi na raskršću više civilizacija, pre svega istočne i zapadne. Da Srbija ima bezbroj istorijskih i verskih spomenika koji svedoče o bogatstvu njene vekovne istorije, i da je obdarena izuzetnim prirodnim lepotama.
Rakao bih im na kraju, i to posebno mladim turistima, da su njeni veliki gradovi poznati po bogatim i raznovrsnim kuturno-umetničkim sadržajima i da su svi Srbi bilo u gradu ili na selu gostoprimljivi i otvoreni.

Web: https://www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs/an-everlasting-partnership-that-keeps-improving/

DIPLOMACY INTERVIEW NEW ISSUE

An Everlasting Partnership That Keeps Improving
Algeria has become Serbia’s largest economic and commercial partner in Africa
Nikola Gudelj

Ever since Serbia was a part of Yugoslavia, relations with Algeria have been a beneficial necessity for both countries. Despite the cultural differences, Serbia and Algeria still have a lot in common. Throughout history, this relationship has been nothing but friendly and everything points to the fact that this will continue to be the case. We talked with H. E. Mr. Fatah Mahraz, the Ambassador of Algeria in Serbia, about the trade between Algeria and Serbia and promoting each other’s tourist potential.
This year, for the first time, your Embassy was invited to send a team from Serbia on a press trip to Algeria. Does this mean that Algeria is interested in promoting tourism with Serbia and highlighting Algeria as an appealing travel destination?
First of all, I would like to thank you and your respected magazine Diplomacy&Commerce for accepting the invitation sent by the Office National du Tourisme et des voyages (ONT) (The National Organization for Tourism and Travel) to visit Algeria as part of EducTours, which was organized on the sidelines of the 22nd International Tourism and Travel Exhibition (SITEV) in Algeria, in September 2023.
SITEV is one of the most important tourist events that take place in Algeria and every year, it gathers national and international tourism workers, organizations and institutions to present their offer and establish business connections. This Exhibition is also on the World Tourism Organization’s agenda.
Your stay in Algeria was actually a trip of familiarization, the opportunity to discover just one small part of its bountiful tourist potential and to be informed about the many business opportunities that this sector offers, thanks to the new legal framework that regulates it.
In recent years, our country has recorded a significant influx of foreign tourists to the Great South. Tassili Cultural Park, for example, is currently a very popular destination. In 1982, it was listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site, and in 1986, it was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. In terms of the number of cave engravings, this is the largest site in the world.
I would like to use this opportunity to remind you that your trip, which included three other tourism-related professionals from Serbia, is not the first activity carried out within the framework of cooperation aimed at getting better acquainted with a travel destination such as Algeria.
In the past, our country took part in the Belgrade International Tourism Fair. Our last participation was in February 2023. In addition to visitors flocking to the Algerian booth, the Embassy also coordinated successful meetings of the Algerian delegation with Serbian high-ranking officials and tourism professionals to consider ways to boost the exchange in this sector. Numerous visitors and travel agencies from Serbia showed great interest in Algeria as a new tourist destination.
Algeria is aware that tourism is an important driver of economic growth and therefore in recent years, the country has been working on a strategy to improve the diversification of its economy, promoting this sector and relying on its main assets, which are still intact and preserved natural sites, impressive and undiscovered touristic, historical and cultural potential and modern tourist and hotel infrastructure. The strategy also takes into account environmental protection.

Apart from tourism development, are the two countries cooperating in other areas too? What is the trade between Algeria and Serbia like? The Serbian agricultural industry is interested in marketing its products in the Algerian market. Is your market open to Serbian companies and what are the products that could be marketed in the near future?
Allow me to briefly explain the quality of the historical relations between our two countries, which are characterized by friendship and solidarity between our two peoples and which began even before my country declared independence, at a time when the former Yugoslavia and its peoples provided valuable and diverse assistance to our national liberation struggle. In 1959, the former Yugoslavia was the first European country to recognize the Provisional Government of Algeria. Since then, this friendship and solidarity have grown stronger, which enabled the launch of multidisciplinary cooperation, which was useful in the work that my country invested in reconstruction and development after restoring independence.
Many Serbian companies actively participated in this reconstruction. They still operate in my country, where they work on many projects within the economic, industrial and trade partnerships in various fields, such as hydraulics, water management, construction and electric power, to name only the most important ones.
Since then, Algeria has become Serbia’s largest Arab and African economic and commercial partner, with an enviable volume of trade that is constantly growing. The trade balance currently shows a large surplus on the Serbian side. This trade mainly consists of agricultural and food products. The great potential of the economies of our two countries has not been fully utilized as yet. Our two countries are working to create prerequisites for increasing mutual trade, especially through updating bilateral agreements.
In order for this situation to improve, we had several high-level bilateral meetings this year. At the meeting of the two foreign ministers, Mr. Ivica Dačić and Mr. Ahmed Attaf respectively, in June in Belgrade, a road map for the revival and expansion of the exchange was established. Both short- and medium-term political meetings are planned at a very high level, as well as economic ones, to introduce a new dynamic into the development of economic, scientific and technical cooperation.
As far as the agricultural sector is concerned, Serbia really has indisputable knowledge that Algeria, which has been implementing major agricultural development projects in recent years, is interested in. Serbia’s expertise, especially in research and development, could positively contribute to the Algerian agricultural sector with new processes and technologies, which would improve the quality of certain products, especially seeds.

How much will a direct flight contribute to the development of economic exchange and increase in tourist visits?
Clearly, a great advantage lies in the fact that a tourist destination is accessible by air. The symbiosis between air transport and tourism really exists. The advantages of air transport are also essential for the development of economic and trade exchange. Therefore, the re-establishment of direct Algiers-Belgrade flights would certainly boost the number of tourist visits on both sides and facilitate business opportunities between the two countries. Thanks to direct flights, citizens of both countries will save both time and money.
Talks between the experts of the two countries should begin soon to implement this project, which would indirectly contribute to boosting Belgrade’s role as a regional air hub.

Are Serbian travel agencies interested in organizing trips to Algeria? What are the best reasons to visit Algeria?
It would take me dozens of interviews to list the many tourist aspects of Algeria. So I will mention only some of them. First of all, Algeria is the largest country in the Mediterranean basin, Africa and the Arab world. It contains prehistoric archaeological sites, such as the cave paintings of Tassili, the largest open-air museum in the world.
Algeria enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate, but the geographical and climatic contrasts are so impressive that there are periods when tourists, especially fans of fishing or nautical sports, can go from the beach to the Chréa or Tikjda ski resorts on the same day, whose snowy peaks are about 40km from the coast.
Located at the crossroads of several civilizations (Roman, Byzantine, Muslim, Ottoman), Algeria is not only a valued tourist destination thanks to its wonderful landscapes but also for its rich cultural and historical heritage. Numerous archaeological and cultural sites have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, such as Timgad, Djemila, Tipaza, Casbah and the M’Zab valley with its oases and ksours, desert castles of unusual ancient architecture. Algeria also has numerous and unique sites that are impossible to enumerate in this short interview.

How would you describe Serbia to Algerians? What is it you like the most here and what would you recommend to your compatriots?
I would tell them that Serbia is at the crossroads of several civilizations, primarily Eastern and Western, that Serbia has countless historical and religious monuments that testify to the richness of its centuries-old history and that it is endowed with exceptional natural beauty.
Last but not least, I would like to tell them, especially young tourists, that its big cities are known for their abundant and varied cultural and artistic content and that all Serbs, whether they live in cities or the countryside, are hospitable and open.

Web: https://www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs/an-everlasting-partnership-that-keeps-improving/