President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday welcomed Guinea-Bissau’s President Sissoco Embalo for talks in Ankara, the Turkish Presidency informed.

Erdoğan and Embalo held a closed-door meeting at the Presidential Complex. No further information was released about the meeting.

Embalo was among the world leaders who conveyed condolences to Erdoğan after devastating earthquakes struck southeastern Türkiye last month and claimed the lives of more than 46,100 people.

While relations between Türkiye and Guinea Bissau remained somewhat limited to bilateral meetings held on the margins of international organizations so far, both countries express the will to further develop their ties.

Indeed, Erdoğan and Embalo last November decided to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of commerce, defense and economy.

In addition to nearly $5 million in trade, the two countries also enjoy a "Security Cooperation Agreement" inked in 2014. Türkiye also has an Honorary Consulate in Bissau and Guinea Bissau has two Honorary Consulates in Istanbul and Ankara.

Last year in February, Erdoğan was due to visit Guinea-Bissau as part of an official trip to Africa but had to cancel to attend an emergency NATO meeting to discuss Ukraine-Russia tensions.

Türkiye is seeking to strengthen its presence in Africa. Since 2003, the volume of the country's trade with the continent has increased from $2 billion to at least $25 billion. Erdoğan has visited Africa nearly 40 times since 2005, as prime minister and president. During that time, Türkiye opened 40 embassies on the continent.