By Abdel Razek Abdallah

ALGIERS

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has approved a deal allowing the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) to carry out a range of development projects in Algeria.

According to a Thursday statement released by the presidency, Bouteflika “signed the protocol for the economic, scientific and technological cooperation agreement” with Turkey.

The agreement -- initially concluded with Ankara in 2015 -- allows TIKA to carry out local development projects in the fields of rural and urban development; water treatment; forest and geological resource preservation; local cultural heritage; and educational and scientific research.