Minister of Industry Ahmed Zeghdar rose, on Thursday, with Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus on Thursday ways to develop bilateral cooperation, reiterating Algeria’s will to bolster relations and economic partnership with Turkey, mainly in the industrial sector, the ministry said in a statement.
During this meeting held on the sidelines of Turkey-Africa Business and Economic Forum in Istanbul, the two ministers also discussed the state of economic and trade relations between both countries and ways to consolidate them.
Speaking at the opening of Turkey-Africa Business and Economy Forum, which he attended in his capacity as Algeria’s representative, Zeghdar hailed “the good and deep relations between Algeria and Turkey”, underlining “the will of both countries to strengthen bilateral economic and trade relations,” the statement said.
In this regard, the minister pointed out the volume of trade between the two countries, which reached four (04) billion USD in 2018 and 2019, before dropping to three (03) billion USD in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which allowed Turkey to become Algeria’s fifth largest trading partner, the latter being the second largest partner for Turkey in Africa. The two countries, according to the Minister, aim to increase this trade to five (5) billion USD in the near future.
He also indicated that Turkish investments in Algeria are following “an increasing curve”, especially since Turkey holds the first position in Algeria in terms of foreign direct investments (FDI), with an equivalent of 3.5 billion USD, while the number of Turkish companies in Algeria amounts to over 800.
The Minister also spoke of the fact that Turkish-African economic relations, which are based on the principle of “equitable partnership of mutual interest”, have undergone “remarkable development” in recent years, as well as their future prospects.
In this context, the minister said that this forum is an «important opportunity ” to examine possible partnership and investment projects between the two parties and to build long-term economic cooperation between Turkey and African countries, especially in the light of the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA).
