The deputy ministers made a realistic assessment of the state of Polish-Algerian cooperation in agriculture. They focused mainly on discussing the possibilities and ways to deepen it.

Secretary of State Szymon Giżyński expressed his hope for close cooperation with Algeria which is an important recipient of Polish agricultural and food products.

The heads of delegations agreed that the intentions and expectations of both sides, as expressed during the talks, indicate that there is potential to further strengthen contacts in various aspects concerning the agricultural sector.

Deputy Minister Rachid Chakib Kaid spoke with great appreciation of Poland's achievements in modernising agriculture and expressed interest in benefiting from Polish experience in this field. He stressed that the government programme currently being implemented in Algeria places agriculture among the most important economic sectors, which will receive support and significant resources for further development.  He encouraged Polish entities to operate and invest in the Algerian market. In this context, he also reported on the willingness of the private sector to cooperate with Polish partners.

The possibilities of increasing mutual turnover in agri-food trade were an important topic of discussion. Secretary of State Szymon Giżyński noted that an essential measure that greatly determines the potential increase in the value of agri-food trade is the elimination of barriers. He stressed the need to lift existing restrictions on access of Polish agri-food products to the Algerian market as soon as possible.

Chief Veterinary Officer Mirosław Welz, who also participated in the meeting, noted that a prerequisite for the free movement of goods is the mutual recognition of veterinary standards, particularly those evidenced by veterinary health certificates. He expressed the hope of establishing direct contacts between representatives of the veterinary services of both countries. The CVO is convinced that thanks to substantive discussions between specialists it will be possible to quickly solve problems concerning access to the Algerian market for a number of Polish products of animal origin. Deputy Minister R. Ch. Kaid assured the Polish side that he would forward the Polish requests to the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture and Veterinary Services upon his return to Algeria. According to the Algerian deputy minister, the return to a permanent and direct dialogue between representatives of Polish and Algerian veterinary services is extremely important and lies in the interest of both countries.

In the context of developing bilateral trade relations, Deputy Director General of the National Support Centre for Agriculture (KOWR), Krzysztof Dec, expressed his satisfaction that Polish food products are available on the Algerian market. He added that a much wider range of products could be supplied to Algeria, including such export hits as poultry, apples, soft fruits and others. At the same time, he assured of the KOWR's readiness to take measures to stimulate trade, including support in matching business partners on both sides. Deputy Director Krzysztof Dec invited Algerian entrepreneurs to visit Poland to establish business relations with Polish entities.

The participants of the meeting expressed interest in intensifying contacts and joint initiatives to foster the development of the agricultural sector in both countries. In this context, they confirmed their willingness to conclude a bilateral memorandum of understanding on cooperation in agriculture, which is currently under negotiation. Deputy Ministers Sz. Giżyński and R. Ch. Kaid expressed their conviction that the signing of this document will be an impulse to strengthen and intensify Polish-Algerian relations, especially given that it covers a number of areas such as: crop production, animal health and husbandry, research and innovation, or the promotion of joint ventures between Polish and Algerian entrepreneurs.

Agri-food products constitute the main group of overall Polish exports to Algeria. Algeria is one of the most important customers for Polish dairy products outside the EU. Poland records a positive balance in agri-food trade with Algeria, which amounted to EUR 250.9 million in 2020. In 2020, the value of Polish exports amounted to EUR 251.5 million, while in the first half of 2021 it exceeded this level, reaching EUR 264.5 million. During this period, Poland exported to Algeria mainly wheat as well as milk and dairy products.