Turkey and Algeria share long common history and have friendly and brotherly relations. Within the context of broad administrative power granted to local authorities during the Ottoman era between 1514 and 1830, Algerians recall that era
as a peaceful period of time when their country could play a dominant role in the Mediterranean.
Turkey recognized Algeria on 31 July 1962. Today, Algeria considers Turkey as the closest country among the western countries. In addition to historical reasons, high number of Muslims living in Algeria, Turkey’s being a member of NATO and
its candidacy to EU plays an important role for this affinity. Algeria considers Turkey as a “strategic partner”.
The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, signed during our Prime Minister’s official visit to Algeria in May 2006, constituted tangible confirmation of the rapprochement in bilateral relations. The number of mutual high level visits as
well as technical delegations visits have increased significantly. The scale of cooperation between the two countries has been diversified by including broader subjects.
Recently, there have been a large number of mutual high level visits between the two countries. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika visited Turkey on 2-4 February 2005 to improve bilateral relations. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reciprocated
this visit on 22-23 May 2006.
Algeria is Turkey’s most important trade partner in the African continent. In 2010, while Turkey’s export to Algeria amounted to 1,5 billion US Dollars, Turkish imports from Algeria reached the level of 2,3 billions US Dollars.
More than 200 Turkish companies, mostly in the fields of construction and infrastructure, are operating in Algeria.
Approximately 5000 Turkish citizens live in Algeria.