By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who hosted the two-day, third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit said his country is keen on expanding and developing Turkey’s economic and military ties with the African continent. The Turkish leader also said Africa should be represented with a seat at the UN Security Council. Heads of state from 16 African nations as well as over 102 ministers and representatives of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States attended the summit in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, in October, Turkey played host to business leaders and dozens of ministers from African states for a summit aimed at increasing trade. During that month, Erdogan visited Angola, Nigeria and Togo. On Saturday, at the summit, the Turkish leader pointed out: “One-point three billion people live on the African continent and it is not represented at the Security Council.” He added: “This is a huge, flagrant injustice. I am still excited and thrilled every time I visit the continent.” He said that to date, he has made over 50 trips to Africa. Lauding the summit, Erdogan commented that the summit “is a testament to the fact that Turkey is interested in Africa and Turkey’s interest in Africa is not a temporary interest.” The Turkish leader further commented that “it is a maintained commitment,” and added: “Our African brothers and sisters are showing they are interested in better cooperation with Turkey.”
To that end, the Turkish president announced Turkey will send 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to African countries in the next few months. He said it is a “disgrace for humanity at large” that only six percent of the African population has been vaccinated. Erdogan also said that Turkey is prepared to offer its counterterrorism expertise and deliver military technology to African countries. He said: “We understand security challenges like those from Daesh (ISIL), Boko Haram and al-Shabab are not for a few countries only, but a shared challenge.” The Turkish leader added that because Turkey possesses “advanced technology” in the defense industry and because of Turkey’s experience in combating terrorism and conducting numerous counter-terror operations that it is well equipped to offer its services and knowledge. He highlighted the fact that Turkey has a major military base in Somalia where it assisted in building government infrastructure and training security personnel. Erdogan also referenced the military presence of Turkish forces in Libya where Turkish armed drones made a significant difference during the conflict there.
