Algerian President Tebboune in Turkey for official visit
Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune is currently on an official trip to Turkey after being invited by Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reports Le Matin d’Algerie on 6th May. The visit had been announced in Turkish media, but was only revealed by Algerian media on the day the President traveled.
He is expected to stay for three days, and he will be signing a number of agreements to strengthen bilateral relations, with a focus on economic cooperation, renewable energy and agriculture. The two leaders will also discuss the situation in Gaza and Lebanon.
Algerian-Turkish exchanges have increased exponentially in recent years, with Turkish imports focusing on energy, while Algeria imports various machinery, steel, plastic and cereals. The aim is for commercial exchanges to reach $10 billion in 2030, with Turkey presented as a key partner for Algeria, who is trying to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons. To this end, Tebboune also received two of the largest Turkish companies operating in Algeria: textile giant Tayal and steel manufacturer Tosyali. Another 1600 Turkish companies are based in Algeria, bringing in significant investments.
A council for high level strategic cooperation was established in 2020 between the two countries, marking their will to build a closer partnership, and this visit from Tebboune marked its first meeting since then. A joint press conference announced the start of negotiations on a new preferential trade agreement.
Algeria has been looking to develop new partnerships in the wake of the war on Iran; it is building closer relations with the US and its foreign minister Ahmed Attaf has been on a European tour visiting Croatia, Belgium and Switzerland. Attaf had also visited Turkey in September 2023, while Erdogan last visited Algiers in November 2023.
Turkey is a historical ally for Algeria as relations between both countries go back to the Ottoman Empire, with the Regency of Algiers being part of the Empire for over 300 years, until 1830.
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