Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Istanbul (Agenzia Fides) – Following China (see Fides 6/11/2006) and India (see Fides 9/4/2008), Turkey has also organized a Summit with the African nations in order to improve the business and economy possibilities on the continent. From August 18-20 representatives from over 50 African nations, along with Turkish representatives, participated in the first Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit.
We are aiming to increase the trade volume to 30 billion dollars in 2010”, Unal Cevikoz, the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s deputy undersecretary. In 2007, the cost of commercial trade between Turkey and Africa was 13 billion dollars. In addition to strengthening the economy, Ankara is interested in receiving support from the African nations in order to hold a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council, whose assignment will be decided in October by the UN General Assembly.
The participation of Sudan President Omar al-Bashir in the Istanbul Summit was criticized by various humanitarian organizations who recalled the human rights violations in the African country, especially in the Darfur region.
Turkey has recently strengthened its presence in Africa in May 2007, with its admission as a non-regional member in the African Development Bank.
The bank, which is one of the main financiers of the development and infrastructure programs in Africa, is for Turkey a good basis for initiating new cooperative projects with the nations there. Turkey also strengthened its aviation ties with Africa, with additional flights on the national company Turkish Airlines to cities like Addis Ababa, Khartoum, Lagos, and Johannesburg (which are major African hubs).
Istanbul also hopes to enter into the maritime sector in certain strategic locations, such as the port of Mombasa (Kenya), in order to stimulate trade with the central part of the continent. Turkey has given 700 million dollars’ worth of humanitarian aid and assistance to African nations in the last 3 years, through the Turkish International Co-operation Agency (TICA).
The main recipients of this aid were Sudan, Ethiopia, and Senegal. The new areas of cooperation in development include health, water, sanitary/hygiene structures, education, technical training, environmental protection, and transportation structures. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 1/9/2008)
