Some Algerian political activists are lashing out at Egypt for reportedly supporting Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a territory on Africa's northwest coast that has been at the centre of disputes with Algeria for decades.
"Egypt takes sides with Morocco and humiliates the Algerian government," Algerian political activist Chawki Benzehra said.
"This is a major shift in the Egyptian position, following years of neutrality," he added in a video he posted to the online video-sharing and social media platform YouTube.
The alleged Egyptian endorsement came on 6 April, during the first session of the Morocco-Egypt Coordination Follow-up Committee, a cooperation mechanism between the two countries, in Cairo.
Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch attended the meeting, along with a host of Moroccan cabinet ministers.
Western Sahara has been a divisive issue in relations between Rabat and Algiers for several years now, with each capital working tooth and nail to rally regional and international support for their positions on the territory.
Morocco administers almost 80% of the territory, whereas the remaining 20% is controlled by the Polisario Front, which Algeria backs.
During the committee meeting, Egypt purportedly supported Morocco's territorial integrity and endorsed United Nations Security Council Resolution 2797, which highlights Morocco's Autonomy Plan as a genuine basis for resolving the Western Sahara dispute, according to Moroccan media.
Algeria has not yet officially commented on the reported Egyptian endorsement. New chapter? Criticism by some Algerian activists comes as Cairo and Rabat open a new chapter in their relations and prepare for a major business engagement.
The delegation, accompanied by Akhannouch, to Cairo was unprecedented in level, at least in recent years.
During the first session of the Morocco-Egypt Coordination Follow-up Committee, the two countries agreed to expand cooperation in almost all fields, including agriculture, industry and investments.
Ministers on both sides also held one-to-one meetings to explore prospects for wider cooperation in the coming period.
Egypt, observers in Cairo said, hopes to expand cooperation with Morocco, especially in the fields of industry, renewable energy, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence.
"We can witness a major leap in cooperation between the two countries in these fields in the coming period," independent Egyptian economist Khaled al-Shafie told The New Arab .
He added that this cooperation would achieve this leap if the two countries succeed in removing hindrances, including administrative ones.
"The same cooperation would serve the interests of both countries, given the presence of a mutual desire for starting a new chapter in their longstanding relations," al-Shafie said.
The volume of trade between the two countries was $1.4 billion in 2025, with the trade balance tilting sharply in favour of Egypt.
The Egyptian and Moroccan governments also believe that trade cooperation between their two countries can expand even more in the future.
Economic and development cooperation between Cairo and Rabat is set to accelerate as the two capitals also seek to expand their political and security coordination, analysts in Cairo said.
Egypt, they added, has been trying to pave the road for greater North African unity, especially with the situation in Libya being far from stable and the terrorist threat remaining high in the African Sahel region.
Egypt has been working hard to create North African unanimity on the situation in Libya on the road to finding a practical formula for ending conflicts in the neighbouring country and stabilising it, the same analysts said. 'Balancing act' Information about Egypt's support for Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara has so far come only from Moroccan media .
As for Egyptian media, the whole thing was framed in a totally different light.
Local media have not quoted any government official mentioning or supporting "Moroccan sovereignty" over the disputed territory, either during or on the sidelines of the first session of the Morocco-Egypt Coordination Follow-up Committee.
Instead, an unnamed Egyptian official said Egypt prioritised peaceful solutions and backed United Nations principles, including the territorial integrity of states.
The same official mentioned Morocco within the context of territorial integrity.
"Egypt supports UN resolutions and underscores the importance of reaching consensus political solutions," the official said, answering a question by a journalist about whether his country's position on the Western Sahara issue had changed.
The same remarks move hand in hand with Egypt's neutral position on and cautious approach to the issue, which put the sensitive nature of the Western Sahara file for both Algeria and Morocco into serious consideration.
Instead of taking sides, Egypt has always called for finding solutions to the Western Sahara dispute that are aligned with Security Council resolutions on the issue.
In adopting this position, Egypt maintains a balancing act it has been performing in its foreign relations, particularly with countries that have disputes or divergent policy lines, analysts said.
"This Egyptian balancing act derives from Egypt's openness to business with all sides," Egyptian political analyst Mohamed Rabie al-Dehi said.
Speaking to TNA , he added that this Egyptian policy line, which prioritises Egyptian national interests, is paying off.
"The same policy line has given Egypt leverage in regional and international affairs," al-Dehi said.
Egypt maintains strong relations with Russia and China, but it can still be friends with the US and Europe.
This balancing act was also clearly manifested all through the US-Israel war on Iran, where Egypt—together with Pakistan and Turkey—maintained contacts with everybody and was instrumental in filling gaps and bringing Iran and the US together in the build-up for the ceasefire that went into effect on April 8. Misinformation? This Egyptian tactic is apparently understood by some Algerians, who accuse the Moroccans of trying to fabricate information about Egypt's position on Western Sahara to spoil relations between Cairo and Algiers.
The latest visit by the Moroccan prime minister to Cairo came almost four months after Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Ghrib visited the Egyptian capital with a high-level delegation.
During the visit, the two sides signed a wide range of cooperation agreements and set the course for ambitious cooperation in different fields.
On 8 April, an Algerian newspaper sought to clarify Egypt's position on Western Sahara by highlighting the remarks of the aforementioned unnamed Egyptian official.
The remarks, the newspaper said, uncover what it described as "Moroccan disinformation".
A day earlier, Algerian activist Daouh Albeikem posted on his Facebook page the text of the statement issued by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry regarding the meeting between the Egyptian and Moroccan foreign ministers on the sidelines of the Morocco-Egypt Coordination Follow-up Committee session.
He headlined the post "Morocco and the policy of media lying and deception".
"The statement of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry does not include any reference to the Egyptian position on the Western Sahara issue," Albeikem wrote .
Bouhidel Redouane, a professor of political science and international relations at the University of Algiers, said Egyptian media had not mentioned the sovereignty issue.
"Moroccan media made the whole thing up," Redouane said to TNA . "It is all part of a comprehensive Moroccan media campaign of lies."