Karam Saeed‏‏

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Algeria from April 20 to 21, 2025, to attend the third meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between the two countries. Regional tensions topped the agenda during talks between the two officials, particularly amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip as well as the security volatility in the Sahel and Western Sahara regions.Relations between the two countries have experienced a significant boost, primarily due to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Algeria in 2023, during which he signed approximately 13 cooperation agreements, as well as his visit in 2020, which led to the establishment of the High-Level Cooperation Council between the two nations. Fidan's visit reflects an evolution in the dynamics of bilateral relations, especially in light of the international competition unfolding in Africa, as several global powers move to fill the void left by the West.Divergent Contexts&nbsp;The Turkish Foreign Minister's visit to Algeria took place against a backdrop of shifting dynamics, compelling both countries to strengthen and expand areas of mutual alignment. This can be outlined as follows:&nbsp;1- Escalating Tensions Between Algeria and the West: Fidan's visit occurred amid rising tensions between Algeria and Western powers, particularly Paris and Washington. In mid-April 2025, relations soured after Algeria expelled 12 French diplomats, prompting France to retaliate in kind. Meanwhile, there is underlying friction between Algeria and the U.S. following Washington’s renewed recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara on April 8, 2025. During a meeting with his Moroccan counterpart in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that the only viable solution to the conflict must be based on Rabat’s autonomy proposal.2- Turkey’s Attempt to Fill the Void in Africa: Fidan’s visit to Algeria comes as Turkey accelerates its efforts to solidify its presence in Africa, capitalizing on the waning influence of traditional international powers—particularly France and the United States—in several regions, most notably North Africa and the Sahel. Against this backdrop, Turkey is leveraging Algeria as a key gateway to bolstering its influence in Africa. This likely explains Turkey’s balancing act regarding the Western Sahara issue. Thus, Fidan’s visit to Algeria, alongside the agreements signed between the two countries, reflects Turkey’s desire to undermine Western influence in Africa, which aligns with Ankara’s broader strategic objectives.3- Algeria’s Tensions with Morocco: This visit is significantly important for Algeria, especially as Morocco has managed to strengthen its strategic ties with Washington and European powers while Algeria’s relations with the West have noticeably declined. Many observers view this visit as a strategic win for Algeria, demonstrating President Tebboune’s ability to forge new regional alliances and alignments that could help counterbalance Morocco’s maneuvers. It underscores Algeria’s push to build reliable partnerships that can neutralize the diplomatic advances of its regional rival.4- Continued Repercussions of Regional Conflicts: The current developments in Gaza and Syria, where tensions have reached unprecedented levels due to Israel’s continued hardline military approach in Gaza, along with escalating Turkish-Israeli disputes in the Syrian arena, have prompted Ankara and Algeria to intensify joint efforts to mitigate the adverse spillover effects of regional conflicts on their interests. Additionally, both countries are leveraging these conflicts to bolster their regional influence. This is evident in their emergence as key destinations for Hamas delegations: a Hamas delegation visited Turkey on April 19, 2025, while another visited Algeria on January 19, 2025, following an earlier visit on February 4, 2024. These engagements underscore the two nations' strategic maneuvering amid regional turmoil.5- Rethinking Algeria’s Policy Toward Turkey: Recent moves by Algerian diplomacy toward Turkey reflect a desire to diversify its foreign partnerships and redefine its external relations. It appears that Algeria is increasingly looking to position Turkey as a key strategic partner, particularly amid a relative cooling of relations with Russia and ongoing tensions with the West. Against this backdrop, the significance of Foreign Minister Fidan’s visit to Algeria cannot be overlooked, evidenced by the official opening of a Turkish consulate general in Oran, western Algeria. Moreover, the high-level reception given to the Turkish minister, including his meeting with President Tebboune, underscores Algeria’s intent to deepen and expand its partnership with Turkey across multiple levels.Various ConsiderationsThere are several motivations explaining the Turkish Foreign Minister's visit to Algeria at the current time, the most prominent of which are the following:1- Coordination in Confronting Regional Challenges: The Turkish Foreign Minister's visit to Algeria witnessed an agreement between the two sides to strengthen ties in the face of regional challenges, particularly the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the Israeli incursion into Syria, in addition to enhancing stability in the Sahel and Sahara region, alongside joint coordination in supporting diplomatic efforts in Libya.2- Enhancing Trade and Investment Relations: Fidan's visit to Algeria aimed to boost economic and investment cooperation, as one of the most prominent areas of mutual interest. In terms of bilateral trade, Algeria is among Turkey's most important key trade partners in Africa, with around 1,400 registered Turkish companies operating in Algeria, including 60 construction firms. Turkish direct investments in Algeria have reached $6 billion, while bilateral trade volume between the two countries amounted to $6.42 billion in 2024. It is worth noting that the third meeting of the Joint Planning Group between the two countries, attended by Fidan on April 21, 2025, emphasized the importance of achieving the shared goal of increasing trade volume to $10 billion in the upcoming phase.3- Developing Energy Cooperation: Energy projects represent one of the key areas in Turkey-Algeria relations, as highlighted by the Turkish Foreign Minister during his meetings in Algeria. The coming period is expected to witness an increase in Turkish investments in Algeria's energy, gas, green hydrogen utilization, and renewable energy sectors, given Algeria's potential in natural resources and renewable energy. Turkey, through major companies like "SİMPER," stands as one of the most prominent investors in heavy industries and clean energy in Algeria. Conversely, Algeria's energy giant Sonatrach began in September 2024 to pump massive investments in partnership with Turkey's "Rönesans" company for a propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene production project in Turkey.4- Securing Turkey's Gas Imports: From Turkey's perspective, Algeria represents a key source for securing its energy needs, particularly liquefied natural gas (LNG). Turkey's LNG imports have seen a notable increase since December 2024, reaching unprecedented levels by February 2025 due to rising domestic demand for both industrial and household consumption. Algeria currently stands as one of Turkey's most important gas suppliers, providing approximately 4.4 billion cubic meters of LNG through state-owned energy company Sonatrach under a contract signed in 1988, which is set to expire at the end of 2027.It is worth noting that Turkey's current outreach to Algeria is linked to Ankara's efforts to reduce dependence on Russian and Iranian gas, driven by the ongoing war in Ukraine and concerns over the potential failure of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Such a failure could lead to additional U.S. sanctions on Iran's energy sector.Expanding presenceIn conclusion, the current momentum in Turkey-Algeria relations reflects Ankara's pursuit to expand its presence in Africa and capitalize on the decline of French influence in Algeria to fill the vacuum. It also demonstrates Turkey's efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian and Iranian gas. Meanwhile, Algeria aims to restructure its regional alliances by strengthening ties with Turkey, particularly amid strained relations with the West and escalating tensions with regional neighbors, especially Morocco and Mali.

Why Turkey Aims to Expand Its Presence in Algeria