Algeria’s accession to the world economy is moving forward with a surprising amount of support from the North African country’s Arab and European neighbors. In the past decade, the country integrated slower than its neighbors and was surpassed by both Morocco and Tunisia, who acceded to several trade agreements with the European Union (EU) and multilateral trade accords with Arab neighbors. Despite a long history of being stalled under the country’s socialist-oriented economic policies, Algeria’s economy finally began to show promise when it began talks to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1998. Ten years later, Algeria is still not a member, while Morocco and Tunisia have benefited since their accessions in 1995 by using the organization as a platform and mechanism for their continued liberalization and privatization plans. Governments and businesses with connections to Algeria are poised on the sidelines as the country is set to finally join
