26 May 2021

Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Mevlüt CAVUÅžOÄžLU has commended African countries for coming together under the African Union (AU). 

Presenting a message to celebrate Africa Day on Tuesday, Mr CAVUÅžOÄžLU said AU was predicating on independence and freedom, and displaying a common consciousness based on solidarity and unity. 

“The success story reached in the following decades in this spirit and understanding gives us hope for the bright future of the continent,” he said. 

Mr CAVUÅžOÄžLU said his country’s approach to African countries matches the founding principles of the AU and it was built on a holistic, inclusive, equal partnership on the basis of mutual respect and win-win strategy.

“After the second Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit held in Malabo in 2014, our ties with African countries have become stronger. We hope to host the third summit in our country, in September, which we believe will offer opportunities for a strong and comprehensive cooperation between Turkey and Africa,” he said. 

Mr CAVUÅžOÄžLU said Turkey would continue to contribute to peace and stability and economic and social development in Africa through public institutions, non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

“Our Africa Initiative and Africa Partnership policies, considered among the most successful initiatives of our foreign policy, constitute an added value to our relations with the continent,” he added. 

He observed that his country’s relationship with Africa has constructive effect in areas such as trade, investment, culture, security, military cooperation and development.

“We are pleased to observe that African countries also attach importance to strengthening cooperation with our country,” he said. 

He said since 2002, the diplomatic missions in the continent increased from 12 to 43, with the embassy opened in Togo last month. 

“African Countries also increased the number of their embassies in Ankara, from 10 in 2008 to 37.  Turkey, which is the fifth country in the world in terms of the number of diplomatic missions, continues to bring the issues of Africa to the agenda at the global level with its wide diplomacy network, and also continues to cooperate with African countries in regional and international platforms,” he said.

Mr CAVUÅžOÄžLU said the total value of Turkey’s direct investments in Africa has exceeded US$6 billion, adding that Turkish contractors contribute to Africa’s development by undertaking more than 1 150 projects. 

“We appreciate the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, which is considered the most important project of Agenda 2063. We are ready to share our experiences with our African friends and provide support in this regard,” he said. 

Additionally, Mr CAVUÅžOÄžLU said development and humanitarian aid of Turkey continues to contribute to the creation of favourable conditions for the establishment of a prosperous Africa.

He said the official development aid provided by Turkey’s public institutions to Africa between 2005 and 2019 has reached almost 3.5 billion Dollars. “In line with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda commitments, our total development aid for 46 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), 33 of which are in Africa, was 8.7 billion Dollars between 2009-2019,” said Mr CAVUÅžOÄžLU. 

Mr CAVUÅžOÄžLU said the sustainable development projects of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TÄ°KA), whose representation office number has reached 22 in Africa and whose bilateral official development assistance for the continent exceeded 500 million Dollars, were embraced throughout the continent. Ends