Algeria, Türkiye Discuss Bolstering Ties in Various Fields

President Erdogan receives Tebboune at Dolmabahce Palace. (Turkish Presidency)
President Erdogan receives Tebboune at Dolmabahce Palace. (Turkish Presidency)
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Algeria, Türkiye Discuss Bolstering Ties in Various Fields

President Erdogan receives Tebboune at Dolmabahce Palace. (Turkish Presidency)
President Erdogan receives Tebboune at Dolmabahce Palace. (Turkish Presidency)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune held talks in Istanbul on Saturday and discussed bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest.

Erdogan welcomed Tebboune at the presidential office at Dolmabahce Palace. They held one-on-one talks followed by talks involving delegations from both countries to discuss bolstering ties in various fields.

The meetings were attended by ministers of foreign affairs, defense, trade, finance, energy, industry, technology, health, environment, and education.

Tebboune arrived in Türkiye for a two-day working visit on Friday. This is his second visit since becoming president in 2019.

Turkish sources revealed that the talks focused on the developments in Libya, Palestine, and Mali, in addition to enhancing bilateral ties namely in the economy.

The two countries seek to increase trade from $3.16 billion to $5 billion. Economic cooperation between them witnessed a leap during the term of Erdogan.

Official data showed that more than 1,300 Turkish firms are active in Algeria, contributing to providing around 30,000 jobs. Investments of Turkish companies reached an estimated $6 billion.

Türkiye aims to make its companies win the greatest share of Algeria’s plans to reinforce its infrastructure with a $150 billion budget.

Algeria is the third biggest natural gas exporter to Türkiye after Russia and Iran.

Algeria's Sonatrach oil company renewed contracts to supply liquefied gas to Türkiye in 2018, in quantities amounting to 5 billion cubic meters annually.

The company also constructs a petrochemical plant in partnership with the Turkish company Ronesans Holding in Adana, southern Türkiye, to produce the plastic polypropylene, which is used in several industries.

The two countries seek to boost military cooperation in a way that reinforces the defense capacities of Algeria, especially with the remarkable development in Turkish military industries, namely in drones.

Türkiye and Algeria signed the Friendship and Cooperation Agreement on May 23 in 2006. The agreement stipulates the development of dialogue in political, economic, and cultural fields, and the commitment to reinforcing economic cooperation.



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.