There have been many improvements in Turkish-African relations with the help of increased bilateral diplomatic missions and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's focus on the region, Marcel Mulumba Tshidimba, the Democratic Republic of Congo ambassador to Turkey, said Thursday.Tshidimba made the comments to Anadolu Agency (AA) ahead of Africa Day, which is celebrated every May 25. The then Organization of African Union (OAU) was founded on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which was later replaced by the African Union in 2002. This year will be the 55th anniversary of its establishment. Tshidimda said when he came Turkey in 2011 to open the embassy, African countries had only 16 embassies in Ankara; however, today the number has doubled and reached 33. Turkey had 20 to 25 embassies in Africa. Now it has 39 embassies in Africa, which shows our relationship is good," he said.
He added that Erdoğan has visited more than 20 countries in Africa since his election in 2014 and he has hosted around 30 heads of state from Africa, out of the total 54, "which is a big number." In late February, Erdoğan paid a five-day official visit to the continent, paying visits to Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal and Mali.
Tshidimba is the dean of the Africa Diplomatic Corps in Ankara, whose mission is, according to his words, is to get to work together and to negotiate with the Turkish government when it comes to the common interest of the continent. Turkey has been active in African countries through development projects and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) plays a key role in this. Turkey's state-run Maarif Foundation, which was established to take over Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) affiliated schools around the world, has recently taken control of numerous schools previously run by FETÖ, including 32 in Africa, according to the Education Ministry. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) also provides Somali troops with training with around 200 personnel on duty at a compound. Over 10,000 Somali soldiers will be trained as part of the understanding between the two countries. Turkey's 15-year Africa Initiative Policy has increased economic cooperation and has also taken political relations to the next level.
According to the ambassador, Turkish-African relations are in a good state since the AU summit decided to establish Turkey as a strategic partner to the development of Africa in 2007. Since then, there have been two Turkish-African summits held in Istanbul and Malabo, the capital city of Equatorial Guinea, in 2008 and 2014, respectively. The next Turkey-Africa summit will be held in Istanbul in 2019. Tshidimba underlined that Africa's potential in numerous areas was not utilized enough and expressed hope to change this image with Turkey's help because it has the technology and capacity to finance it. "Without water and electricity there is no industry, so we need those sectors to be developed and we need technical and financial assistance from Turkey mostly in these areas," he added. "Our approach to Africa is based on a transparent, long-term and strategic partnership. We are confident that this partnership promises a bright future for Turkey and our partners in Africa," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu wrote in an article published Friday in Daily Sabah.
