Algeria will take back its citizens illegally residing in Germany, Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia pledged Monday during a visit by the country's Chancellor Angela Merkel. "I confirm that Algeria will bring its citizens back, whether it's a matter of 3,000 or 5,000 (people)," the premier said during a press conference alongside Merkel. He appealed to Berlin to ask German airline Lufthansa to run repatriation flights, which until now have been carried out by Air Algerie.
Merkel asserted the "will in Germany to welcome those who have good reasons to flee their countries," such as Iraqis and Syrians, offering them the right to stay and work. "On the other hand, where the right to remain does not exist we expect that the state can take action. "To that end, we need partners who are in agreement with us and Algeria is one of those partners," Merkel said.
Throwing his support behind the German chancellor's stance, Ouyahia said Algeria also takes action against those illegally entering their country. "Algeria does battle for the rest of the international community," he said, by preventing "20,000 to 30,000 people annually from entering Algeria illegally" from where many continue their journeys to Europe.
Berlin recently classed the North African nation as a "safe" country, as part of a legal change which would make it harder for Algerians to claim asylum in Germany.
Algiers has meanwhile asked Berlin to implement extradition requests issued by Algerian courts. Speaking on Monday, Ouyahia denied that Algeria abandoned "Africans in the desert", following accusations by rights groups that thousands of migrants were dumped at the border. Earlier this month the International Organization for Migration said more than 400 people had been rescued from the desert in northern Niger in two days, without specifying whether they had been pushed back from neighbouring Algeria. During her official visit to Algeria, Merkel also met with the country's ailing president, 81-year-old Abdelaziz Bouteflika. As well as migration, economic issues and terrorism were also on the agenda according to official Algerian Press Service.