istanbul
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkish companies are embarking on important infrastructure projects in Africa, from energy to food and agriculture.
President Erdoğan, speaking at the 4th Turkiye Africa Business and Economic Forum co-organized by the Turkiye Committee for Foreign Economic Relations (DEIK), the Turkish Ministry of Trade and the African Union in Istanbul, said that direct investments by Turkish businessmen in Africa exceeded $10 billion.
Recalling that the Turkiye government announced its Africa Strategy in 2003 and declared 2005 as the “Year of Africa,” he said the Turkiye government had established cooperation with Africa on a win-win basis.
Underscoring that Prime Minister Turkiye sees Africa’s success as Africa’s own success, he said: “We have fully supported the African Union’s membership in the G20 from the beginning. We therefore welcomed the African Union’s membership in the G20 Summit at the recent G20 Summit in New Delhi.”
In 2021, Turkiye became a strategic partner of the African Union, he recalled, noting that the country’s bilateral trade with the African continent reached almost $41 billion last year.
“I believe that the African continent’s free trade area will create great opportunities for trade and investment in the future,” President Erdoğan said.
strategic partnership
Azali Assoumani, Leader of the African Union and President of the Comoros Union, said participants addressed important issues at the forum, including energy, agriculture, health, food, tourism and digital marketing.
He said Turkiye’s Africa Strategy became a strategic partnership between Turkiye and Africa.
Noting that Turkiye-Africa relations have continued to improve over the past two decades, he said parties should focus on increasing trade and investment at this time.
Turkish Trade Minister Omer Borat said the forum will be an important opportunity to address the agenda of economic and trade relations between Turkiye and African countries and identify new areas of cooperation.
“Over the past 20 years, we have visited Africa many times, welcomed many African friends to our country, and continued to advance and deepen existing relationships every day,” Borat said.
African Union Commission Commissioner for Trade and Industry Albert Muchanga said the forum was establishing strong bridges between Turkiye and Africa.
Amani Asfour, President of the African Business Council, said at the event that there is cooperation between Turkiye and Africa and that the continent wants this cooperation to be reflected in various investments on the continent.
Africa’s private sector is proud that this partnership will lead to tourism growth and the empowerment of small and medium-sized enterprises, adding that Africa has huge investment potential for the private sector.
DEIK Director Nail Orpak said the event was attended by foreign presidents, 24 ministers and deputy ministers from Africa, the Chair of the African Union Commission, 32 ambassadors, and hundreds of business people from Turkiye and Africa.
The two-day event, which began on Thursday, included panel discussions, press conferences, and B2B gatherings.
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