The top Turkish and Zimbabwean diplomats agreed to boost bilateral relations and cooperation in all fields on Wednesday.

In a joint news conference with his Zimbabwean counterpart Frederick Shava, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who is the first Turkish foreign minister to visit the southern African country, said: "We reviewed all aspects of our relations today, how to enhance our economic relations."

He said that the current bilateral trade of $35 million is not enough, adding that it needs to be increased as one of the priority areas of bilateral ties.

"We need to establish the Joint Economic Commission ... and we need to conclude and sign agreements, MoUs that we have been negotiating to strengthen the legal basis of our relations," Çavuşoğlu added.

The Turkish minister also assured the willingness of Turkish companies to invest in Zimbabwe as he noted that two foreign ministers agreed "to work closely to further our relations in many areas," including agriculture, tourism, education and health.

Çavuşoğlu said that the private sectors in the two countries need to be encouraged for further cooperation both in Türkiye and here in Zimbabwe.

For his part, Zimbabwe's Shava described Çavuşoğlu's visit as an "era for economic diplomacy."

"We are hoping to deepen cooperation between the Republic of Turkey and Zimbabwe," he said.

Ankara has frequently reaffirmed that Türkiye’s approach in its ever-growing relations with African countries is based on equal partnership and a win-win principle, emphasizing the strong will to further develop commercial ties. In 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan embarked on a four-day diplomatic tour to three African countries, Angola, Nigeria and Togo, as part of the country's African policy to contribute to the economic and social development of the continent with peace and stability, as well as to develop bilateral relations on the basis of equal partnership and mutual benefit.

Türkiye’s engagement with the African continent has been gaining pace over the years. Since taking office nearly two decades ago, first serving as prime minister, Erdoğan has been fostering ties with Africa, presenting Türkiye as a fairer player than the continent’s former colonial powers. Ankara has been stressing the desire to advance relations with the continent on the basis of a win-win relationship and equal partnership while observing mutual respect. Both sides have been vowing to tap into their greater potential when it comes to further expanding and deepening relations.

To this effect, the number of Turkish embassies in Africa has increased from just 12 in 2002 to 44 in 2022.