Sabri Boukadoum

Some 124 Turkish citizens living abroad have died due to COVID-19, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.

Çavuşoğlu's remarks came after attending a NATO foreign ministers' meeting.

He said more than 20,000 citizens in total have been brought back to Turkey from 50 countries.

Some 98 Turkish citizens living abroad have died due to COVID-19, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.

"We have evacuated over 20,000 Turkish citizens from more than 50 countries," he told state broadcaster TRT World.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is visiting Algeria on Thursday to meet with counterpart Sabri Boukadoum, the ministry said in a press release.

Talks are expected to focus on bilateral relations as well as on issues of regional and international interest including the situation in Libya.

The meeting will be followed by statements to the press and a working lunch. 

Turkey's top diplomat arrived in Algiers on Jan. 6 for official talks on bilateral relations with Algerian authorities.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was welcomed by his Algerian counterpart Sabri Boukadoum and Turkish Ambassador Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş.

He is to meet Algerian authorities to discuss bilateral ties and recent regional and international developments.