'Turkey aims to develop equal partnership with African countries'

ISTANBUL

Turkey's main goal has been to establish relations with African countries on the basis of equal partnership, mutual respect, and win-win principle, the Turkish trade minister said.

"Thus, our approach to the continent has never consisted of unilateral economic motives. On the contrary, it aims to develop Africa hand in hand with Turkey,” Mehmet Mus told journalists after a ministerial meeting as part of the Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum on Thursday.

He added that Turkey supports the African countries in the fields of health, infrastructure, logistics, and women entrepreneurship.

About the ministerial meeting, he said the meeting discussed deepening bilateral economic relations.

In 2003, the country formulated a strategy to develop economic and trade relations with African countries, he recalled.

The third edition of the two-day Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum kicked off on Thursday in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul.

Mus said around 3,000 African and Turkish businesspeople gathered at the event.

The event will include a ministerial meeting, B2B (business-to-business) debates, signing ceremonies, and panel discussions in which several topics such as cooperation in agriculture, pandemic, innovation, and financing will be discussed.

Turkey and Africa's bilateral trade volume, which was $5.4 billion in 2003, reached $25 billion in 2020, the minister said, adding: "Our exports (to Africa), which were $2.1 billion in 2003, reached $15.2 billion in 2020."

He said Turkey's investments on the continent amounted to $6 billion so far, while Turkish contractors have got projects worth $77 billion.

There are 43 Turkish embassies and 26 Turkish commercial counselors across the continent, he added.

* Writing and contributions by Gokhan Ergocun