Turkey-Africa conference kicks off in Istanbul

The Turkey Africa 2nd Ministerial Review Conference kicked off in Istanbul on Monday with the attendance of 19 African countries.

The conference, co organized by the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the African Union Commission, began with group photos of the ministers and officials.

The gathering is being held nearly four years after the November 2014 Africa-Turkey Summit was held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

The ministerial meeting in Istanbul is a precursor to next year’s Third Turkey-Africa Summit, setting the tone and agenda of deliberations for that meeting.

It also falls some 10 years after the 2008 African Union Summit, where Turkey was declared one of the union’s strategic partners.

The conference also aims to review the progress made on partnership and to discuss steps that can be taken to strengthen cooperation between Africa and Turkey.

Bilateral Ties

Calling African countries "close friends and neighbors, Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said: “African countries want a better life. We approach world issues with the same vision. Together we want the international order to be fairer and more democratic.

“Our relations further deepened with the Turkey-Africa Union summits held in 2008 and 2014.”

Turkey and African countries see their economic ties through a win-win perspective, he added.

He pointed to Turkey’s Africa outreach initiative and partnership policy.

Turkey declared 2005 the Year of Africa and later the African Union declared Turkey a strategic partner of the continent, Cavusoglu noted.

Development projects

Pointing to development aid projects in Africa from the state Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), he said: “Turkey and TIKA don’t insist on doing any projects in African countries.

“On the contrary, we want African countries and their local administrations together with central governments to propose projects, and we’re realizing projects which the African people want.”

Also speaking at the conference, Olivier Nduhungirehe, minister of state at Rwanda’s Foreign Ministry, hailed the partnership between Turkey and Africa.

“The partnership between Turkey and Africa is successful. I believe this conference will also have concrete outcomes,” he said.

“Turkey has growing importance in the development of the African continent,” he added.

Thomas Kwesi Quartey, deputy chair of the African Union Commission, also said the African Union must design their own destiny by themselves.

The Turkey-Africa 2nd Ministerial Review Conference, with the attendance of 19 African countries, is being held nearly four years after the November 2014 Africa-Turkey Summit held in Equatorial Guinea.

The ministerial meeting in Istanbul is a precursor to next year’s Third Turkey-Africa Summit, setting the tone and agenda of deliberations for that meeting.

Since 2004, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has paid official visits to 24 African countries accompanied by ministers, bureaucrats and businessmen and spearheaded the signing of many bilateral pacts between Turkey and African countries.

Turkey currently has 41 embassies in African countries, up from only 12 in 2009. There are 33 African embassies in Ankara. Turkey aims to open embassies in all 54 African countries.

Since 2009, Turkey has also provided the African Union annual support of $1 million.