President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is preparing for a diplomatic tour of Africa. Erdoğan’s tour, which will start on Oct. 17 and last four days, covers Angola, Nigeria and Togo.
Turkey’s recent close contact with Africa continues to increase and despite the ongoing pandemic, Erdoğan hosted six African leaders over the summer term. In this process, Erdoğan, who also carried out telephone diplomacy with nine African leaders, is preparing to visit three African countries within the scope of accelerating diplomatic traffic with the continent.
The first stop will be Angola. Erdoğan hosted his Angolan counterpart Joao Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço in July, resulting in 10 bilateral cooperation agreements being signed during the visit, the first of its kind between the two countries at the presidential level. Erdoğan will pay a return visit to Lourenço on Oct. 17-18.
During the visit, Erdoğan vows to boost Turkey’s trade volume with the Southern African nation of Angola. Turkey will stand by Angola as a country that has proven itself in its fight against terrorism, Erdoğan also stated.
The second stop on the African tour is Nigeria on Oct. 18-19. Erdoğan, who last paid an official visit to Nigeria in March 2016, hosted President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Complex in October 2017. Erdoğan had expressed to the Nigerian leader that Turkey was ready to seize all opportunities to activate the true potential of the two countries’ economic relations.
The last stop of the African tour will be Togo. Erdoğan held a telephone conversation with Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe in August. During the meeting, where bilateral relations were discussed, Erdoğan stated that cooperation with Togo in the field of defense would have a multiplier effect in the development of relations. Erdoğan is expected to be accompanied by businesspeople on his West Africa tour.
The third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit will be held in Istanbul on Dec. 17-18. Many heads of state and government from African countries, ministers, high-level officials and representatives of regional and international organizations will attend the summit, which Erdoğan will also attend. At the summit, within the framework of the Africa Partnership Policy, the steps to be taken in line with Turkey’s goals of supporting the continent’s development efforts and increasing commercial, cultural and human relations will be evaluated. The first Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit was held in 2008 and the second in 2014 in Equatorial Guinea.
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