Diplomatic relations were established on 3 July 1962, the day on which the French state’s sovereignty was passed to the provisional executive of the new state of Algeria. Even in the 1990s, when Algeria suffered the effects of Islamist terrorist attacks, Germany maintained diplomatic contacts with the country. The first trip abroad by the current President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, was to Berlin on 19 January 2020, to attend the Berlin Conference on Libya.

Germany is the sixth biggest supplier of Algerian imports. Germany’s principal exports are foodstuffs, chemical products, motor vehicles and vehicle parts, as well as machinery; its primary imports from Algeria are oil, gas and petrochemicals. The German-Algerian Chamber of Industry and Commerce has more than 450 members. In bilateral trade, Germany records a trade surplus (in 2023 German exports totalled 2.1 billion euro as compared to 1.5 billion in German imports).

In addition to the Joint Economic Commission agreed in 2011, the energy partnership established between the two countries in 2015 provides another forum for promoting bilateral business contacts. Both Germany and Algeria are part of the SoutH2 Corridor, which in future will enable the supply of hydrogen to Germany via a pipeline. The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, visited Algeria in February 2024. During the trip, the German-Algerian hydrogen taskforce was established and a joint declaration of intent on cooperation on hydrogen was signed.

Germany and Algeria have concluded a number of bilateral agreements, including the investment protection agreement of 2002, the double taxation agreement of 2008, as well as agreements on shipping and air transport.

A bilateral cultural agreement designed to serve as the basis for deepening cultural and academic cooperation between the two countries was signed on 13 June 2022 and entered into force on 11 February 2025.

The Goethe-Institut in Algiers was established in 1963. It was temporarily closed in 1994 due to events in Algeria, but has been operational again since 2003. Its activities focus on language work and cooperation in the field of education. Five Algerian schools are part of the Schools: Partners for the Future initiative (PASCH) and teach German as a foreign language. The number of people learning German has doubled to a total of 50,000 in just a few years.

Since 2008, the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and Algeria’s National Public Museum of Cherchell have cooperated on the restoration of archaeological artefacts, specialised training for staff, and the reorganisation of the museum.