Erdoğan starts Africa tour, vows to enhance ties

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan started his official five-day Africa tour on Feb. 26 and vowed to enhance bilateral ties with African countries.

Erdoğan arrived at Algeria’s Houari Boumediene Airport on the evening of Feb. 26.

He was welcomed with an official ceremony by Abdelkader Bensalah, Algeria’s president of the Council of the Nation.

Following the ceremony, Erdoğan left a wreath at a monument of martyrs.

Erdoğan also received Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia at the Sheraton Hotel for a closed-door meeting.

Turkey’s president and Algeria’s prime minister signed a number of agreements late on Feb. 26 in the Algerian capital Algiers.

A ceremony was held after the meeting between Erdoğan and Ouyahia for the signing of several agreements between the two countries.

The Turkish and Algerian foreign ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between Turkey’s Foreign Ministry’s Diplomacy Academy and the Algerian Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic and International Relations Institute.

Another memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation on agriculture was signed between the agriculture ministers of the two countries.

The culture ministers of both countries signed a cooperation protocol to utilize the common cultural heritage between Turkey and Algeria.

Other signed agreements included cooperation on hydrocarbons and a cooperation protocol on a Turkology project signed between Turkey’s Yunus Emre Institute and Algeria’s Setif-2 University.

Erdoğan’s tour will mark the second Turkish presidential trip to Algeria, as well as the first such visits to Mauritania and Mali.

After Algeria, Erdoğan will head to Mauritania on Feb. 28, followed by Senegal and Mali.

Last December, Erdoğan paid a four-day visit to Sudan, Chad, and Tunisia.

Since 2004, Erdoğan has paid official visits to 24 African countries and witnessed the signing of numerous bilateral pacts.