Erdogan arrives in Chad to boost bilateral ties

By Bahattin Gonultas

N'DJAMENA, Chad

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the central African nation of Chad on Tuesday for a one-day visit aimed at deepening ties between the two countries.

Erdogan was welcomed at the airport in the capital N'Djamena by Chad’s President Idriss Deby and members of his Cabinet.

Erdogan’s visit to Chad is the second stop on a three-nation African tour, preceded by Sudan and followed by Tunisia.

Erdogan is accompanied by a large delegation, including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, National Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz, Agriculture Minister Ahmet Esref Fakibaba, Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmus, Transport, Maritime Affairs, and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, National Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen.Hulusi Akar, and a delegation of some 150 Turkish businesspeople.

The visit, the first-ever by a Turkish president in Chad, will be dominated by business forums to discuss investment and the signing of a number of agreements to strengthen existing economic partnerships.

During the trip, Erdogan is due to hold meetings with his counterpart Deby, followed by a press conference.

Chad presents opportunities for Turkish investors in construction, agriculture, food processing and storage, animal products processing, textiles, machinery and energy, according to Turkey’s Economy Ministry.

Chad also has rich gold, uranium, and oil reserves.

Turkey's imports from Chad in the first 10 months of 2017 totaled $26.9 million, while exports stood at $14.9 million, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The main hurdles for investors in Chad are inadequate energy and costly transportation infrastructure, weak institutions, and corruption.