Erdogan: Turkiye committed to support Africa, deepen ties

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkiye remains committed to supporting Africa emphasising deep ties that go back to 19th century with the African continent. 

"Our cooperation is based on equality, not imperialism or orientalism," said Erdogan on Saturday at a ceremony held for foreign dignitaries on the final day of Third Turkiye-Africa Partnership Summit in Istanbul. 

"The world is bigger than five"

Erdogan added that both Turkiye and Africa should strive to be great together fighting a place at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the future. 

"There is 1.3 billion people live in Africa and this continent is not represented at the UNSC, that is huge flagrant of injustice," Erdogan said urging to join forces and to deepen relations even further. 

Trade relations

He highlighted, "Our trade with Africa was $5.4 billion in 2020 and investments for this year stands at $6 billion," adding that Turkish companies currently employ around 25,000 Africans throughout continent. 

READ MORE: Turkiye: Relations with Africa strategic and long term

Fighting Covid-19

Erdogan said vaccine inequality and injustice towards Africa is a disgrace and must stop. 

He committed that 15 million doses of our TurkoVac will first be shared with Africa and that Turkiye will continue supplying medical aid and equipment. 

Turkiye will soon start production of its first locally made Covid-19 vaccine, TurkoVac, and will cooperate with Africa in joint production and delivery of the vaccine. 

Action plan

The Third Turkiye-Africa Partnership Summit is three-day event focused on health care, education, and agriculture. 

A joint declaration and an action plan for the next five years was unveiled at the summit including concrete steps in various areas such as development, trade, industry, education, informatics, women, youth, infrastructure, agriculture, and health. 

READ MORE: How Turkey's approach to Africa differs from the West and China