The Algerian Embassy in Ankara celebrated on Tuesday the country’s 60th independence anniversary in a reception.

The event, which commemorates the end of French occupation in the North African country, was attended by high-ranking Turkish officials and foreign diplomats.

Algerian Ambassador to Ankara Sufian Mimouni said he was "pleased to see high participation of Turkish brothers and sisters at the event."

"The Turkey-Algeria brotherly relations have recently seen a new push," Mimouni said, adding that it "laid new foundations for the development of strategic ties and opened wide horizons for Algerian-Turkish cooperation in the political, cultural and economic fields."

He said Algerian Independence Day culminated after a "long journey of struggle for our people against the colonial domination."

"Algerian people had risen against the colonizer and sacrificed millions of people in their way for full liberation," he said.

Relations between two countries

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu underscored that Turkey and Algeria have been allies and friendly countries "bound by common history, culture and values for five centuries."

He said relations between Ankara and Algeria "continue to develop and strengthen each day," and all of it has gained new momentum with the Algerian president's last visit to Turkey.

"This visit has enabled us to evaluate new cooperation opportunities in many fields from transport to culture, mining to education and industry to tourism," he said. "In this context, we are especially gratified by the signing of the memorandum of understanding in the field of public works, which concerns our ministry."

The Turkish minister said the North African country is one of the most important trade partners for Turkey. "We maintain our efforts for reaching $10 billion in bilateral trade volume, which hit $4.2 billion in 2021, and aimed to set out by our president."

Karaismailogğu commemorated "the martyrs, who have sacrificed their lives for the independence of Algeria," while expressing "great joy" at being with Algerians at the event.

France occupied Algeria in 1830, which had been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for centuries.

Paris reinforced its presence by sending nearly 1 million settlers to Algeria.

Algeria, which represents the most recent and bloodiest example of France's colonial history on the African continent, started its war of independence Nov. 1, 1954, which cost almost 1.5 million lives.

France's 132 years of occupation and colonial rule ended July 5, 1962.

During the eight-year struggle for independence, Algeria was recognized as one of the countries that paid the heaviest price for the cause. The great pain experienced was written in history as a "black mark" left by France when it withdrew from Africa.