Türkiye and Algeria on Saturday vowed to cooperate on regional issues while further developing the two countries’ multifaceted ties.
Holding a joint press conference along with his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra in Algiers, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu remarked that many issues and prospects of cooperation in numerous fields, including defense, maritime, fishery, commerce, agriculture, energy, culture and education, were discussed during the meeting of the Turkish-Algerian Joint Planning Group held in the Algerian capital.
Drawing attention to growing Turkish investments in Algeria, Çavuşoğlu said over 1,400 Turkish companies have invested more than $5 billion in the North African country and that this investment was expected to reach $10 billion.
He stressed that Turkish-Algeria cooperation in the fields of energy and agriculture would be beneficial not only for the two countries but also for the wider region and the world.
The opening of branches of Türkiye's Ziraat Bank and the planned increase of flight frequency of Turkish Airlines to and from Algeria will also contribute to further improvement of bilateral relations, Çavuşoğlu said.
He added that Türkiye and Algeria would soon open cultural centers to foster societal relations between the two nations. Çavuşoğlu said that the Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) would open in 2023 and that a school run by the Maarif Foundation would soon follow soon.
Türkiye's top diplomat indicated that the Consulate General in Oran will soon be operational.
He also said that the two countries’ stances were similar in the cases of the Libyan civil war as well as the Palestine issue.
“As Turkey, we strongly support Algeria's valuable work towards reconciliation between the Palestinian parties. We thank them very much for these efforts,” Çavuşoğlu underlined.
Lamamra said that the strategic cooperation between Türkiye and Algeria provided a bright future and emphasized the importance of trade, investment, technology transfer and the sharing of know-how.
Çavuşoğlu’s latest visit builds on the momentum reached in bilateral ties during Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s visit to Türkiye in May.
Tebboune made his first presidential visit to Türkiye in 17 years on May 15-17, during which 15 agreements were signed between the two countries.
The last presidential visit from Algeria to Türkiye was in February 2005 by Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
A "Friendship and Cooperation Agreement" was signed in 2006 to improve relations.
The last presidential visit from Türkiye to Algeria was made by Erdoğan in January 2020 when a joint statement on establishing a High-Level Cooperation Council was signed.
Seven cooperation agreements were also signed during Erdoğan's visit in February 2018 – two of which were commercial in nature
On the other side, Çavuşoğlu on Sunday also met with Turkish businesspeople in Algeria as part of his two-day visit to the country.
"Our business people make the most important contribution to the development of our economic ties with Algeria. The entrepreneurship of our business people and the skill of our workers make us a world brand," Çavuşoğlu said on Twitter.
