Turkey’s Antalya Diplomacy Forum held a webinar on Monday exploring cooperation between Turkey and Africa with the aim of further deepening ties for mutually beneficial results.
The webinar entitled “Africa’s Partnerships: Prospects and Opportunities for Mutually Beneficial Economic Cooperation” was held with the participation of senior African officials.
Turkish Ambassador Osman Yavuzalp, moderator of the webinar that was Ankara’s envoy to Addis Ababa in the early 2010s, said that Africa’s importance in world affairs was constantly increasing and that the continent would dominate a significant part of the global population, while its strong growth rate made it a “power package”.
“Such a power plant, of course, remains a priority in each country’s geopolitical and economic considerations. Simply put, Africa is the future of the world, and in this future, Africa’s interaction with the rest of the world is important,” Yavuzalp said in his opening remarks. Speech.
He emphasized that Turkey was aware of the geopolitical importance of Africa and said that it had opened 42 embassies in Africa and that Turkey’s International Co-operation and Development Agency (TIKA) had 22 coordination centers on the continent.
He further noted that Turkey’s total trade with Africa increased to $ 25.3 billion from 2020, which was proof that both sides were strengthened.
One of the panelists, Raymond Gilpin, head of strategy at the Regional Bureau for Africa under the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), said the COVID-19 pandemic had cast a shadow over Africa over the past year.
In 2020, the UNDP’s development index for the continent was negative, a first in the last 25 years, as the pandemic has affected Africa and turned its hard-won development gains and some 40 million Africans were driven back to extreme poverty. according to Gilpin.
“We see Africa as the continent’s promise,” he said, adding that the continent had enormous potential, which he said would be realized with efforts in areas such as natural resource management, youth employment and empowerment, economic transformation and climate change along with peace. and sustainable energy.
Hussein Hassan Hussein, acting head of the trade and industry ministry at the African Union Commission, said the continent had a consumer potential of 1.2 billion people and Africa was growing rapidly.
Africa, according to Hussein, can look to a bright future thanks to a win-win partnership agreement, a policy used by Turkish counterparts that has paved the way for further deepening of ties.
Silver Ojakol, chief of staff of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, said the AfCFTA deal was negotiated by 55 countries on the continent and 54 of them signed the agreement.
Ojakol emphasized that the agreement, in which the authorities bring together a trade and investment regime, generated the greatest consensus.
Africa is expected to have a population of 2 billion by 2050, representing a quarter of the global population, and its total GDP currently stands at about $ 3.4 trillion, he argued, emphasizing that the continent would be a major player in the global arena. .
Aden Houssein Abdillahi, Djibouti’s Ambassador to Turkey, said that Africa had 36 embassies in Turkey and the continent was by far the largest diplomatic group in the country and both sides’ ties were significantly strengthened in recent times as Turkey had 42 embassies in Africa and Turkey. The airlines had 60 flight destinations.
“Our relations have grown significantly in recent years in trade, energy, agriculture and education,” he said, adding that Turkey currently hosts more than 14,000 African students and provided scholarships for 4,500 students.
He welcomed the fact that trading volume had exceeded the $ 25 billion threshold, but stressed that it was not enough as both parties had greater potential for future investment and cooperation.
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