Türkiye - Africa Business Forum to be ground for new collaborations, Turkish minister says

By Gokhan Ergocun and Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) - The current trade and economic relations between Türkiye and African countries will be discussed and the foundation of new cooperation will be laid in Türkiye-Africa Business and Economic Forum, the Turkish trade minister said on Thursday.

The two-day event, starting on Thursday in Istanbul, is hosting 24 ministers and deputy ministers, high-level representatives from several countries and 3,900 African and Turkish business people, Omer Bolat said during the event's opening ceremony.

He said Türkiye and Africa's bilateral business volume was $5.4 billion in 2003 but reached $40.7 billion last year.

Thanks to Türkiye's Africa strategy in the last two decades, the minister recalled that Türkiye's trade volume with the continent rose by 7.5 times and 11.3 times with the Sub-Saharan region.

Turkish business people's investments in the continent reached $10 billion while Turkish contractors assumed projects in Africa worth $85.5 billion so far, Bolat underlined.

He said Türkiye increased the number of embassies in the continent to 44 and the number of trade consultancies to 32 for developing relations with African countries.

Bolat said dozens of officials met at the event to discuss several topics, including agriculture, industry based on agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing, tourism, and women entrepreneurship.

Albert Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade and Industry African Union Commission, underlined the opportunities offered by the African continental free trade area for Turkish investors.

Stating that the forum aims to establish new partnerships and deepen unity, Muchanga said that the forum is an indicator of Türkiye-Africa unity and support of peace and stability in Africa.

In his part, Kamalidini Souef, Minister of Post, Telecommunications and Digital Economy of the Comoros, explained that many agreements were made between Türkiye and African countries, adding that this is not enough.

Underlining that relations should be further strengthened, Souef said, "We must develop relations in key areas such as logistics, digital transformation and telecommunications."

After the opening ceremony, four collaboration agreements were signed between African institutions and countries, the Turkish Trade Ministry and Türkiye's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK).

On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to give a speech at the events organized by DEIK, the African Union and the Turkish Trade Ministry jointly in Istanbul.