Erdogan seeks to deepen relations at Turkey-Africa summit

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, in his aspirations to pursue his expansionism in Africa, seeks closer ties with the continent and requested a seat on the United Nations Security Council to represent him.  

The Turkish president reported last Saturday that "1.3 billion people live on the African continent and it is not represented on the Security Council." 

"The events of the last few years show us all that allowing the 5 UN member countries to designate the fate of the whole world was a mistake," he added.  

"It is a huge and gross injustice. I am still excited and moved every time I visit the continent," Erdogan added.  

He also noted that he had traveled the continent more than 50 times and visited more than 30 countries since 2004.  

Heads of state from 16 African nations attended the three-day summit in Istanbul for a "historic meeting," along with more than 102 ministers and representatives from both the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, with the aim of cementing "strategic and long-term" ties, according to Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey's foreign minister. 

Turkey, aware of its great potential, has been opening up to the African continent for a couple of months now, opening up to a phase of rapprochement with it. With the reception in its capital last October of numerous ministers and managers of major companies from several African countries, it is seeking to strengthen ties and enhance commercial, economic and military relations with the continent. 

To this end, the Third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit is thus taking place, the main objective of which is to increase and boost relations between the country and Africa. 

"This summit is a testimony to the fact that Turkey is interested in Africa and Turkey's interest in Africa is not a temporary interest, it is a sustained commitment. Our African brothers and sisters are showing that they are interested in better cooperation with Turkey," Erdogan added. 

The Turkish president has also promised to send fifteen million vaccines as a support measure against Covid-19 to the African continent, where cases are soaring and vaccination rates are negligible, investing in it with the aim of strengthening diplomatic, trade and defense relations. 

According to Erdogan, the continent's vaccination rates are "a disgrace to humanity that only 6% of the African population has been vaccinated", as well as a "global injustice". 

The number of Covid-19 infections on the continent has increased by 57% in the last week alone, according to information from AFP. 

Turkey, for its part, is also developing its own vaccine, named Turkovac, which is in the process of receiving approval for emergency use. 

However, according to the Turkish President, it will be shared with Africa after approval. 

An evolution in relations between the two sides has been detected, with 43 Turkish embassies in Africa today, instead of the 12 that existed previously.  

For their part, the different countries of the African continent have increased their number to 37 embassies in thirteen years, starting from 10.  

In addition, it is worth noting that trade exchanges between the two have increased fivefold in twenty years, reaching almost $21 billion in the first nine months of the year, an increase of more than 27% year-on-year, according to Mehmet Mus, Turkey's Minister of Trade.  

The Turkish president added as another of his objectives together with his partners the fight against terrorism, adding that Turkey is ready to deliver military technology to countries in Africa.  

"We understand that security challenges such as Daesh (ISIL), Boko Haram and al-Shabab are not just for a few countries, but are a shared challenge. Turkey has advanced technology when it comes to the defense industry, and Turkey has a wealth of experience when it comes to counter-terrorism operations. We are ready to offer this expertise to our African brothers and sisters," the Turkish president added.  

Turkey signed a military cooperation agreement with Ethiopia earlier this year, during a visit by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to Ankara, coinciding with the conflict that is ravaging the African country, and for which the UN Human Rights Council has ordered an investigation into abuses committed during the conflict. 

Erdogan is also scheduled to meet with eight African leaders, including those of Nigeria, Somalia and Rwanda, according to the presidency's website.