“We hope to establish sustainable strategic relations with our African friends, both bilaterally and regionally. As a regional stabilising power, Türkiye is always ready to contribute to peace and security,” Altun said.

Pointing out that Africa has been one of the regions that have come to the fore the most in the Turkish public opinion in the last two decades, Director of Communications Altun stated that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan always attaches special importance to relations with continental countries and with this perspective, Türkiye has signed many economic and political agreements with African countries to date.

Recalling that many projects have been implemented throughout the continent by the Turkish public, business world, and non-governmental organisations, Director of Communications Altun said, “Mrs Emine Erdoğan, our esteemed President's wife, has also been at the forefront of relations with Africa, and has even released a book about her inspiring trips to Africa. Africa Day was one of the first events held in the Turkish House, which was opened in New York during the United Nations General Assembly in September. The 3rd Türkiye-Africa Partnership Summit was held in Istanbul a short time afterwards. The number of Turkish embassies and institutions in Africa is consistently growing, and the Turkish people's interest in Africa remains strong. All of these activities are carried out in accordance with our strong commitment to the continent's future, with which we believe we share a common destiny.”

“We are aware of the continent's potential and dynamism”

Emphasising that the Turkish government, business people and the public are aware of the continent's potential and dynamism, Director of Communications Altun stated that the increasing importance of Africa's role in global politics has only recently begun to be discussed worldwide.

Director of Communications Altun said, “However, we have long recognised Africa's growing power and have consistently invested across the continent. In a rapidly changing world, Africa's strategic importance has grown to the point where it has disrupted the power balance among major players. Africa is increasingly establishing itself as the geopolitical and geoeconomic ground zero of the global system's transformation.”

Noting that Türkiye, as a rising power in the world, prioritises establishing constructive and permanent partnerships with other regions and countries, Director of Communications Altun remarked that relations with rising powers would be crucial to finding solutions to regional and global problems.

Director of Communications Altun stressed that at a time when geopolitical rivalry, regional conflicts, and trade wars consume the agendas of great powers, rising economic and political powers can build healthy partnerships that can solve global difficulties.

Pointing out that recent global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, demonstrate the importance of close cooperation between countries, Director of Communications Altun stated that in addition to global emergencies, Türkiye's policy toward the continent is founded on historical links.

“We aim to develop win-win collaborations across Africa”

Underscoring the Turkish people's intentness to revive these relationships and form strong collaborations with the continent's countries, Director of Communications Altun underlined that they intend to build these relations in a multidimensional approach. Director of Communications Altun added:

“We hope to establish sustainable strategic relations with our African friends, both bilaterally and regionally. As a regional stabilising power, Türkiye is always ready to contribute to peace and security. As we enhance our dialogue with our African partners, we wish to contribute to the region's conflict resolution mediation efforts. As our President has stated on several occasions, Türkiye aims to develop win-win collaborations across Africa. This is also the case for our business relations. Our overall trade volume with the continent has surpassed $25 billion, and the total project volume undertaken by Turkish firms has surpassed $75 billion. We sought to improve trade volume through bilateral and multilateral trade agreements throughout our frequent visits to the region's countries. We wish to achieve steady and consistent economic growth in our countries in collaboration with the African Union and the countries of the region. At the most recent partnership summit, both Türkiye and African Union countries reiterated their commitment to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Director of Communications Altun stated that they are aware of the critical importance of strengthening ties with partners and brotherly peoples in Africa and that they have worked hard to foster understanding, sincerity, and interaction between the Turkish people and the friendly people of Africa through an increase in the number of flights, cultural exchange programmes, education agreements, and public diplomacy.

Director of Communications Altun expressed his delight at the number of African students enjoying high-quality education in Türkiye through scholarship programmes and added, “We are confident that our unprecedented investments in this area over the last two decades have begun to lay the solid foundations for our cultural linkages and mutual understanding. We will continually strive to boost educational and cultural engagement to build our common future in the next decades”.

“Türkiye's humanitarian aid and development assistance to the region set a record”

Director of Communications Altun said that Türkiye's humanitarian aid and development assistance to the region over the last two decades set a record and recalled how non-governmental organisations in Türkiye provided the majority of the humanitarian aid through various campaigns.

Director of Communications Altun stated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, while many countries implemented trade barriers and export bans, Türkiye provided substantial medical aid, including personal protective equipment, masks, and medications, adding: “Our President announced that the TURKOVAC vaccine would be made available to all countries without any restrictions and committed to providing more than 15 million vaccines to African countries. Türkiye, regardless of political or economic conditions, supplies humanitarian and medical aid, as well as development assistance.”

Director of Communications Altun noted: “We would like to reiterate the message we have conveyed over the last two decades on the occasion of our President's visits to Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; we share a common future with Africa. We consider African countries as key stakeholders in resolving global challenges, not as passive recipients of global policies dictated by external actors through prioritizing their own interests. We value African countries' capacity to generate global solutions.” (ILKHA)