UPDATE - Turkey to strengthen trade ties with Tunisia: Erdogan

UPDATES WITH TUNISIAN PRESIDENT'S REMARKS, MINOR EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Bahattin Gonultas

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed to improve trade ties with Tunisia during his official visit to the North African country.

"Boosting a balanced trade volume will continue to be one of the priorities for our bilateral economic agenda," Erdogan said.

Erdogan's remarks came at a joint news conference in capital Tunis following a closed-door meeting with his Tunisian counterpart, Beji Caid Essebsi.

During the meeting, four agreements over cooperation in the fields of military, finance and environment were signed.

The two leaders spoke on regional issues ranging from the situation in Libya to terrorism, Erdogan said.

Erdogan thanked the government and people of Tunisia for their support for Turkey following the defeated coup attempt last year.

He said he would encourage Turkish businesspeople to invest in Tunisia.

For his part, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said Erdogan's visit would play an important role in deepening ties between the two countries.

"It was a special occasion. We exchanged points of view on major issues related to bilateral and economic relations as well as regional issues," Essebsi said.

The Tunisian president called for cooperation in the field of economy and said that both sides intended to strengthen economic ties.

He also accepted Erdogan's invitation to visit Turkey.

Erdogan, accompanied by a delegation of government officials, arrived in Tunisia early Wednesday for a one-day visit.

Tunisia is the last stop on his three-nation African tour including Sudan and Chad.

Later on Wednesday, Erdogan will hold a one-on-one meeting with Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed. He is also expected to meet businesspeople from Tunisia and Turkey at a business forum.

*Mahmoud Barakat in Cairo contributed to this report.