Erdogan welcomed in Algeria as bilateral relations see a boost
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was welcomed to the Presidential Palace in Algiers on November 21, according to The Arab Weekly and agencies.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s rolling out of the red carpet to the Turkish supremo represented a strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.
Ties between Algiers and Ankara have improved significantly since Tebboune’s rise to power back in December 2019.
During a joint press conference, Erdogan noted, “Today, with my dear brother (Abdelmadjid Tebboune), we chaired the second meeting of the High-Level Cooperation Council. We held fruitful meetings and exchanged ideas about the steps to take to deepen our relations, and closely follow up on the projects that will be implemented within this framework.” .
The second meeting of the council ended positively as 12 cooperation agreements were signed which covered trade, environment, culture, and science amongst other key sectors.
READ: Algerian army chief to acquire more arms from China
Following the meeting between the pair, Turkey’s energy minister, Alparslan Bayraktar highlighted that the country’s state energy company Botas agreed a deal with Algerian oil and gas company Sonatrach to extend their gas supply contact for an additional three years.
Algeria’s President was in a confident and cheerful mood following the meeting saying, “With all confidence and honesty, relations are strong and have open horizons for further cooperation. Given the sincere political will in Algeria and Turkey.”
Algeria is attempting to improve ties with countries around the globe, for instance China as the army chiefs of both countries recently met in what will be a boost for the North African country militarily and will allow them to be less reliant on Russia, their main arms supplier.
Russia is feeling the pressure as a result of facing increased isolation due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Reuters/ The Arab Weekly
