PRESS

President Tebboune’s message on occasion of double anniversary of creation of UGTA, nationalization of hydrocarbons

ALGIERS-The President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune sent Thursday a message on the occasion of the celebration of the 67th anniversary of the creation of the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) and the 52nd anniversary of the nationalization of hydrocarbons. Here is APS translation:

In the name of Allah, Clement and Merciful,

Prayer and Peace Be on His Messenger,

On the occasion of the celebration of the double anniversary of the creation of the General Union of Algerian Workers (February 24, 1956) and the nationalization of hydrocarbons (February 24, 1971), we remember historic national positions and events, which strengthen our will and determination to continue the path towards the establishment of the nation-state, strong with its history and its people, and to preserve our unity in a turbulent world, where we face the fallout of regional and international upheaval and the challenges of hostile impulses to our country.

The people have shown, in the ordeal it went through during the years of the national tragedy, that it has unifying springs, drawn from its glorious history and its bitter experience. Today, as we remember a glorious stage, where brave men decided to create the bastion of the trade union struggle under the leadership of valiant revolutionaries, led by Shaheed Aissat Idir, we must draw inspiration from their sacrifices and their love of the fatherland.

On the occasion of this anniversary, I would like to pay a tribute to all workers who are selfless in all sectors and all positions and trades, and I bow with them to the memory of the martyrs of national duty, led by Shaheed Abdelhak Benhamouda, and his fellow trade unionists and workers murdered by the terrorist hordes.

While reiterating our support to the workers with whom the new Algeria is heading towards an era free from corruption, injustice and bureaucracy, corruption and nepotism, we affirm our constant commitment to the oath made to our valiant people to mobilize all the potentialities and the material means and human resources of the country and its institutions for the achievement of our strategic goals in the lead of which the building of a strong and modern economy, an economy based on transparency and competitiveness, freeing initiatives and ideas to create wealth and jobs while preserving the social character of the State.

In this regard, we have worked for this principle by taking measures and new provisions with the institution of the unemployment benefit and the increase in wages, while ensuring the protection of the purchasing power of the citizen through the fight against speculators and provocateurs of shortages who seize opportunities to undermine social stability, especially on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan.

On this day, we celebrate the anniversary of the nationalization of hydrocarbons when engineers and technicians were mobilized to accompany this historic decision and skillfully win the bet of the continuation of production before passing the torch to their successors who showed competence and professionalism to increase the production capacity of oil and gas, allowing Algeria to strengthen its position on the oil and gas market at regional and international levels.

We remain convinced that the highly qualified human resources in this vital sector will make the difference in the process of transition to new energies, in the sense that our country has significant potential in the field of solar energy, a vast electrical grid, and national and international infrastructure for transport of natural gas, in addition to the advantages in the pyramid of energy sources that provide it with gas and oil. Algeria has an industrial fabric related to the production of ammonia and hydrogen.

As such, we are working, as we have stressed the previous year on the occasion of the celebration of the 51st anniversary of the nationalization of hydrocarbons, to develop a national strategy for the development of hydrogen, including green hydrogen, to enable our country to fully engage in the global momentum of the energy and environmental transition. At the same time, the development of the mining sector and the enhancement of mining wealth are at the center of our priorities, as a primary choice for the diversification of our non-hydrocarbon exports.

I would like to seize this opportunity to hail the efforts of all the executives and workers of the energy and mining sector. I also welcome the great efforts of Sonatrach Group for the pioneering place it occupies in a context marked by frantic energy changes, and the vital missions it fulfills in the process of the energy transition.