Istanbul, 17 December 2021 (TDI): The two-day third Turkey-Africa summit 2021 is being held in Istanbul. Leaders and top ministers from 39 countries, including 13 presidents, have gathered at Istanbul Congress Center. The event takes place from 17th till 18th December 2021.
The meeting is a continuation of the October summit which witnessed investment and trade as the main focus. The December 2021 Turkey-Africa summit will focus on security as a continuation of last week’s International Forum for Peace & Security meeting held in Senegal. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also deliver a speech at the summit on Saturday, December 18.
The number of Turkish embassies in Africa has witnessed a tremendous rise from 12 to 43 since 2002. Apart from this, Turkish Airlines (national flag carrier) operates on more than 60 African destinations. Furthermore, the share of Africa with Turkey in terms of trade is 6.5 percent at the respective global level. The African leaders are seeking to purchase military hardware from Turkey. This is due to the offer to come at cheaper prices and with comparatively much lesser strings attached in the deals.
Turkey to win with Africa: Turkish Foreign MinisterÂ
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu highlighted that Turkey endeavours to win with Africa at its side in order to successfully march together towards better future. He said it on said Friday during his inaugural speech. The meeting of foreign ministers for third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit then commenced in Istanbul.
Held Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the 3rd Türkiye-Africa Partnership Summit w/ broad participation.
Health, agriculture & education are the main themes of the Summit.
Our aim is to win & walk towards the future together with Africa.#TürkiyeAfrica2021 pic.twitter.com/ldZKpvbEfT
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) December 17, 2021
He said that high participation is a potential indicator regarding how Turkey’s ties with Africa have reached a high level. In addition, he emphasised that Turkey views its strong relations with Africa to be strategic as well as long-term. He mentioned: ‘Our president is one of the leaders who visited Africa the most, with 50 visits to 30 African countries.’
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry issued press statement which stated that the third summit will launch a new stage in Turkey’s relations with the African Union (AU) and African countries. The second meeting of the Turkey-Africa summit was held in Malabo, the capital of the African country Equatorial Guinea.
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