French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Algiers for a three-day visit aimed at restoring bilateral relations, according to the French Press Agency (AFP).

Macron’s plane landed around 14:30 GMT at Houari Boumediene Airport in the Algerian capital, where he will be received by his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmajid Tebboune.

The visit is timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the end of the war and the declaration of independence of Algeria in 1962. Notably, this is Macron’s second visit to Algeria since taking office, with his first visit in December 2017, the start of his first term.

Notably, Macron doubled down on initiatives in a dossier of remembrance between the two countries, acknowledging the responsibility of the French army for the assassination of mathematician Maurice Auden and the national jurist Ali Boumengel during the “Battle of Algiers” in 1957 and condemning “unjustified crimes” during the massacre of Algerian demonstrators in Paris October 17, 1961.

But the apologies that Algeria is waiting for about colonialism never came, frustrating Macron’s initiatives and deepening misunderstandings.

The alienation deepened after the publication of statements by the French President in October 2021, which accused the Algerian “military-political regime” of creating “income of memory” and questioned the existence of the Algerian nation before colonialism.

Macron has since restored the situation and the two presidents decided to get the partnership between the two countries back on track after tensions between the two countries over the statements.