Defense Minister Hulusi Akar signed a joint military agreement with his Senegalese counterpart Sidiki Kaba on Wednesday, the ministry said.

Akar, who was part of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s delegation visiting the country, signed the Military Framework Agreement to boost defense relations between the two countries.

The two ministers also held a meeting, in which they discussed bilateral and regional defense and security issues.

Erdoğan was in Senegal for the second stop of his four-day official visit to Africa, also including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea-Bissau. He later had to cancel his trip to Guinea Bissau to attend an emergency NATO meeting to discuss Ukraine-Russia tensions.

Turkey-Africa relations gained new acceleration with the country's policy of "Strategic Africa," initiated by Erdoğan in 2003. To this effect, the number of Turkish Embassies in Africa has increased from just 12 in 2002 to 43 in 2021. Turkey became an "observer member" of the African Union in 2005, and the union declared Turkey a "strategic partner" in 2008.