Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Algiers on Sunday for a 48-hour visit to discuss the situation in Libya, where a fragile truce is threatened, a regional crisis in which Algeria wants to play a mediating role.
Economic cooperation will also be on the menu for the trip of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is accompanied by a large delegation of businessmen. Turkey is the first foreign investor in Algeria.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan was welcomed by his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the two heads of state will "consult" in particular "on international issues of common interest", only the Algerian agency APS said. Details of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's program in Algiers, the first stop on an African tour, have not been released.
"We are going to organize an economic forum in Algeria where we have the first place among the foreign investors", said before his departure Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a press conference at the airport of Istanbul. "We will also discuss the latest developments in our region, especially in Libya."
Erdogan and Tebboune already met last Sunday at the international summit in Berlin devoted to the Libyan crisis.
Algeria wants to be part of the resolution of the Libyan conflict
Plunged into chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya is today torn between the Government of Libyan National Union (GNA), recognized by the UN and based in Tripoli, and a power embodied by man East Libyan fort, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Turkey openly supports the FNA al-Sarraj's GNA, and recently authorized the sending of soldiers to the country, while Algeria is anxious to remain "equidistant" from the two belligerents and rejects "any foreign interference".
Algeria, which shares nearly 1,000 kilometers of border with Libya, has increased consultations in recent weeks to try to work for a political settlement of a conflict that threatens regional stability. In this context, Algiers hosted Thursday a meeting of the neighboring countries of Libya. Participants "urged Libyan belligerents to join the dialogue process, under the auspices of the UN, with the assistance of the African Union and neighboring countries," said a statement issued after the meeting. Libya, with a view to reaching a comprehensive settlement, far from any foreign interference. "
>> Read also: Why Turkey will send its troops to Libya
But on Sunday, the United Nations Mission in Libya (Manul) denounced the continuation of violations of the arms embargo in Libya, despite the commitments made at the Berlin conference, and urged the two camps to respect a ceasefire - precarious fire. The Turkish president recently warned against spreading "Libyan chaos" in the Mediterranean if calm is not needed.
A new economic boost
On the bilateral level, priority to the economy: Recep Tayyip Erdogan will chair Sunday afternoon with the Algerian Prime Minister, Abdelaziz Djerad, an Algerian-Turkish business forum in order to give "new impetus" to the economic partnership in the fields "industry, tourism, agriculture and renewable energy".
In 2017, Turkey dethroned France in terms of foreign investment in Algeria. Nearly 1,000 Turkish companies are established in this country, according to the APS. During the first eleven months of 2019, Algerian-Turkish trade exceeded $ 4 billion, making Turkey the fifth largest trading partner of Algeria after China, France, Italy and Spain, according to official Algerian figures. The goal is for trade to reach $ 10 billion a year in the coming years.
With AFP
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