Erdogan's Mozambique trip to 'open new horizon'

By Erkan Avci

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Mozambique will “open a new horizon” between the nations, Turkey’s ambassador to Maputo has said.

Erdogan arrives in the southeast African state later this week as part of the three-country tour taking in Tanzania and Madagascar.

“We believe that this visit will open a new horizon for our bilateral relations and business partnership,” Ambassador Zeynep Kiziltan told Anadolu Agency by email last week.

She added: “Mozambique is today one of the most politically and economically stable countries in Africa… There is a common will to deepen our bilateral relations in a way that will benefit both sides.”

Turkey opened a mission in Mozambique in 2011 and Erdogan will be the first Turkish president to visit the Indian Ocean nation.

The trip is part of Turkey’s drive to forge economic ties across the continent. Last year Erdogan visited Senegal, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Kenya and Uganda while Istanbul hosted a Turkey-Africa business and economic forum.

Turkish investments in Mozambique are currently worth $270 million, the ambassador said.

“Mozambique desires to improve cooperation with our country in the energy, agriculture, tourism and infrastructure sectors,” Kiziltan said. Education, culture and health are also areas ripe for collaboration, she added.

Last year, Turkey established the Maarif Foundation to establish schools and education centers abroad. The foundation’s Chairman Cem Zorlu said Turkish officials would meet local counterparts to urge action against schools run by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) that Ankara holds responsible for the July 15 coup attempt.

Kiziltan said Mozambique had been warned about the threat posed by FETO. “We believe that the Mozambique authorities will make the necessary evaluations and we will continue our struggle on this issue,” she said.

FETO has a network of hundreds of schools around the world. More than 80 FETO institutions have been shut down or transferred since the coup bid.