On behalf of the President of the Algerian Republic, Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces, Minister of National Defence, General Said Chanegriha, Minister Delegate to the Minister of National Defence, Chief of People’s National Army Staff, presided over, on Sunday, 23rd February 2025, the installation ceremony of Major General Zoubir Ghouila, in the functions of Chief of Air Forces, replacing Major General Mohamed Laraba.
After the welcoming ceremony, General Chanegriha observed, at the entrance to the headquarters of the Air Force Command, a moment of silence in memory of the martyr “Amirouche Ait-Hanouda”, Commander of the historic wilaya III, whose headquarters of the Command is named after him. He then laid a wreath in front of the memorial stele of the martyr and recited the Fatiha in his memory and that of the valiant chouhada.
Then, General Chanegriha proceeded to inspect the squares of the executives and personnel of the Air Force Command, aligned at the parade ground, before announcing the official installation of Major General Zoubir Ghouila, in the functions of Commander of the Air Forces, replacing Major General Mohamed Laraba, the Algerian Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
“On behalf of the President of the Republic, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Minister of National Defense, and in accordance with the presidential decree of 17th February 2025, I officially install Major General Zoubir Ghouila, in the functions of Commander of the Air Forces, replacing Major General Mohamed Laraba.
Also, I order you to work under his authority, to follow his orders and to execute his instructions, in the interest of the service, in application of the military regulations in force and the laws of the Republic, by showing loyalty to the sacrifices of our valiant Chouhada and to the values of our glorious Revolution”.
General Chanegriha then presided over the ceremony of handing over the national flag and signed the minutes of the transfer of power.
During his meeting with the executives and personnel of the Air Force Command, the General delivered an orientation speech, which was broadcast by videoconference to all air force units, in which he mentioned the exploits of Algerian diplomacy, which were achieved thanks to the judicious orientations of the President of the Republic, Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces, Minister of National Defence, at both the regional and international levels.
“On this occasion, I would like to salute the active dynamic that our diplomacy has recorded recently, in execution of the judicious orientations of the President of the Republic, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Minister of National Defence. This has allowed Algeria to strengthen its presence at the continental and international level, through remarkable activism within the UN Security Council, in its capacity as a non-permanent member, but also through the increase in its representativeness within the mechanisms and organizations of the African Union, and this, in consideration of the importance given by our country to its African depth.
In this same vein, military diplomacy has recorded a strong dynamic, reflected in the reception of numerous high-level foreign military delegations, and visits made to several countries, as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation relations with friendly armies, likely to strengthen our defense apparatus and enable it to meet the security challenges facing our country, in light of the geopolitical changes that our sub-region is experiencing.”
At the end of this meeting, General Chanegriha wished all the personnel of the Air Force Command every success in the accomplishment of their noble national missions, in the service of the security and stability of Algeria, and this, before following the interventions and listening to the concerns of the executives. (Source & Photo © Algerian Ministry of National Defence)
