Noting that when the harassments, assaults, and violations escalated against Al-Quds, it was the African countries alongside Turkiye that showed the strongest opposition, President Erdoğan said, "While those, who assign ratings to us on democracy and human rights and mercilessly criticize us over the slightest incidents, remained silent to the murders Israel committed in front of cameras, African countries stood by the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause. "

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at the Turkiye-Africa Economic and Business Forum in Ankara. 

Drawing attention to Turkiye's efforts to improve its cooperation with Africa, President Erdoğan said, "We declared 2005 the African Year back in my tenure as Prime Minister. We have increased the pace since then. Turkiye had 12 embassies in Africa when I first took office. Today we have 41 embassies. This number will further increase. We want to improve our relations, built on mutual respect, in all areas on the basis of win-win and equal partnership. Since we took office, we have been working in this spirit in order to strengthen our cooperation with the whole of Africa without any discrimination."

"African countries have stood by the Palestinian people"

Noting that when the harassments, assaults, and violations escalated against Al-Quds, it was the African countries alongside Turkiye that showed the strongest opposition, President Erdoğan said, "While those, who assign ratings to us on democracy and human rights and mercilessly criticize us over the slightest incidents, remained silent to the murders Israel committed in front of cameras, African countries stood by the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause."

"Such regional organizations as the African Union exert significant efforts for the preservation of democracy, stability, and security across the continent. While many countries embrace putschists with open arms, the stance of the African Union has always been in favor of democracy and law. The African Union also played a leading role in the change of power through democratic means in West Africa," he added.

Underscoring that Africa has displayed the same humanitarian and moral stance with regard to irregular migration, too, President Erdoğan stated, "While rich Western countries condemn the refugees that seek shelter in them to death, hunger and poverty, many African countries that have almost no means and resources host millions of refugees. As opposed to popular belief, least developed and developing countries, not the developed Western countries, bear the burden of wars, clashes, and migrations in the world. Just like the Turkish people who have been embracing 3.5 million Syrians with open arms for the past seven years, the peoples of Africa have also shown it to the entire world that sharing is a matter of empathy, spirit, and heart rather than material wealth and resources."

Highlighting that some Western countries perceive globalization as uniformization, President Erdoğan underscored that a single formula, development model, government system, sometimes a single cuisine, outfit, aesthetics are imposed on other countries, and added, "Local differences and regional dynamics are usually disregarded. Sensitivities, values and historical and cultural features that are unique to each community are not being prized enough. These differences are even seen as a threat or obstacle that should be gotten rid of." (ILKHA)