Rabat - Algeria is 20 years behind Morocco, according to Hakim Mohamed, the CEO of the Algerian health insurance company Macir Vie, who made his comments during an interview with an Algerian news site on Sunday.
Mohamed made the statement during his response to a question asked by an interviewer from Tout sur l’Algerie. The reporter's question regarded the reasons the postponement of several agreements with France that were set to be signed during a recent visit by a French delegation consisting of Prime Minister Manuel Valls and other officials.
“The reasons for the delay are unknown,” Mohamed said. “But one must understand one thing: Renault and Peugeot are not going to the Algerian economy and we must stop comparing Algeria and Morocco, particularly following the announcement of a major investment by Renault in our Western neighbor.”
The CEO highlighted that that the two competing countries have “different” strategies for development, which means the “maturation” rate of projects is also different. He also said his country lacks a “truly operational" legal and regulatory framework for businesses, but, “bets" that even though Algeria is 20 years behind Morocco today, the current trend will be “reversed" in the next 20 years.
In response to critics who say agreements between Algeria and its former colonizer favor the latter, Mohamed said “Nobody imposes anything to Algeria; the French partners arrived and established agreements, so it it for our government and our operators to negotiate partnerships that benefit both parties."
Morocco and Algeria have been regional rivals in North Africa since they achieved independence from French colonizers in the second half of the last century. Algeria has supported the separatist Polisario Front - an organization that established the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) for decades in its efforts to achieve independence from the Moroccan government in Rabat.
France forgave Algerian debt to French hospitals during the delegation’s recent visit and signed other agreements in the health sector, including the development of organ transplantation programs in Algeria and improving medical imaging technologies.
Macir Vie signed an agreement with the delegation as well. The pact will allow a French group called Care Bridges to forward Algerian patients of diseases incurable in their home country to an appropriate hospital or doctor in France.
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