Turkish, Algerian Leaders Discuss Gaza War, Bilateral Economic Partnership

A handout photo provided by the Algerian Presidency Press Service shows Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (R) meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) during a meeting in Algiers, Algeria, 21 November 2023. (EPA/Algerian Presidency Press Service handout)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Algiers on Tuesday on an official visit.
He was received by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. They later held talks at the Algiers International Airport's Hall of Honor.
The discussions focused on the Israeli war on Gaza and the Arab-Islamic Summit held in Riyadh on Nov. 11.
They also tackled the implementation of agreements reached during a visit Tebboune made to Ankara in July.
Erdogan and Tebboune will chair the second session of the Algerian-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council.
The council had first met in Ankara in 2021 and focused on promoting Turkish investments in Algeria.
In September, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf in Ankara.
Attaf said bilateral relations between their countries have significantly improved over the past three years and are continuing to expand to include all areas of partnership and cooperation.
He also noted that the two countries plan to increase their trade exchange to $10 billion.
“Algeria has become Türkiye's second trading partner with bilateral trade exceeding $5 billion, as well as the first destination for Turkish direct investments currently worth more than $6 billion,” the Algerian minister said, adding that this places Türkiye as the first foreign investor in Algeria outside the hydrocarbons sector.
After assuming the presidency, Tebboune made his first visit to Türkiye in May 2022, 17 years after the last visit made by late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Tebboune made a second visit in July.
About 1,560 Turkish companies are active in the Algerian market, a jump from 900 companies in early 2022.