Turkey and Africa Towards building a strategic partnership

The Republic of Turkey formed a large presence in the African arena at all levels, and this presence was of great interest to experts and observers alike, as well as the Africans themselves.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during one of his visits to the African continent

The process of Turkish openness to the continent was based on a coherent strategy with the aim of reconnecting with the continent in the context of a new world shaped on the basis of mutual interests, as well as in the midst of the rise of emerging powers.

This was described as "strategic engagement", according to Frederick Donnelly, an academic specializing in Turkish-African relations, in his book on the subject, which focused on the differences between this engagement and the patterns of others.

Anne Fitzgerald (Director of the Balsley School of International Affairs and an analyst in security in East Africa) says that Turkey has distinguished itself from other international partners on the continent such as China, Europeans and Americans by building on the grounds of religious commonalities with the countries and peoples of the continent, which allows it to also build on its reputation as a country A member of NATO and a reliable economic partner.

Turkey as a rising player in Africa

The great Turkish openness to the continent comes from the premise of turning the brown continent again into an arena for competition between the former traditional colonial powers on the one hand, and the emerging international powers such as China and the Russian Federation. Here, the Turkish researcher at the SITA Center (Mehmet Ozkan), who deals with the case of Turkey through the pattern of development aid to Africa, asks whether a rising power means an emerging donor as well.

Generally, the Turkish openness towards Africa is dated with the rise of the Justice and Development Party to power in the country after its victory in the elections held in November 2002, and then Turkey began to take steady steps towards the African continent.

Since Turkey declared the "Year of Africa" ​​in 2005, the pace of relations between Turkey and African countries has accelerated, and economic interests have been the main driver behind this openness. The Istanbul Declaration on Africa, which was issued after the African-Turkish Cooperation Summit, which was held on August 18-21, 2008, laid out a comprehensive framework for cooperation in order to strengthen relations and translate the partnership between the two sides into a tangible reality, as it was decided to hold it regularly once every five years.

Undoubtedly, Turkey is currently considered a new player in the African space, and this is translated through mutual visits and diplomatic representation. The number of Turkish embassies increased from only 12 in 2003 to 42 in 2021. On the other hand, African countries have 32 embassies in Ankara. While President Erdogan has visited the African continent since 2003 - since he was prime minister - about 27 times. The volume of exchange between the two sides has increased five times between 2003 and 2019, and Turkish Airlines currently serves about 51 African cities.

According to Hanna Armstrong (Senior Analyst and Advisor to the Sahel at the International Crisis Group), the competition between Turkey and its regional rivals, such as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, has moved from the Horn of Africa to the Sahel, until the latter sees the growing Turkish influence as a threat to its geostrategic interests and that Turkish involvement in the Sahel is focused Primarily on promoting development and promoting economic interests.

Multidimensional diplomacy

In this context, it is noted that the Turkish policy of openness towards the continent has taken an upward and institutional path at the same time. In 2018, the African Union declared Turkey a "strategic partner" for the continent. Turkish involvement is not only limited to official relations, as there are active roles for Turkish NGOs, especially in the fields of aid, education, health and agriculture.

In addition to the Turkish model, which focuses on the actual needs of local communities in education, health and agriculture, and works on the basis of TIKA programs - unlike Western aid models of an elitist nature that ignore these needs or deal with them in a superficial manner - Turkish scholarships for students at all levels also play a role It is important to promote this model to strengthen relations with the countries and peoples of the continent.

The voting bloc of the African continent (54 countries) occupies great importance in Turkey's policy to form a multipolar world or "alliance of civilizations" or rebuild the global south in the face of Western hegemony in a world greater than five.

Partnership based on mutual interests

With the start of the implementation of the 2010 Opening Document on Africa, relations have entered the stage of a true strategic partnership, and the pace of trade exchange between Turkey and sub-Saharan countries, specifically the Great Sahel countries, has increased despite the challenges they are going through related to political stability, insecurity and armed conflicts, as well as the threat of terrorism.

Despite the low volume of trade between Turkey and the countries of the Sahel region, compared to China and France, for example, these exchanges have increased steadily; The trade exchange between Mali and Turkey has increased tenfold: from only $5 million in 2003 to $57 million in 2019. Recently, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed – during a joint press conference between him and the Chair of the African Union Commission, that “the volume of trade exchange between Mali and Turkey has increased tenfold: from only $5 million in 2003 to $57 million in 2019. The trade exchange between the two sides exceeded 25 billion dollars.

Turkey and the African Union

Turkey had obtained observer status with the African Union in 2005, and also became a strategic partner of the African Union in 2008. In light of this, Turkey played a major role in strengthening the role of the Union in Somalia, where it played a major role - by contributing to the reconstruction Somali National Army - Turkey's strategy towards the continent has gained significant credibility. The African Union was looking for a partner to bear the burden of this historic task of rebuilding the central state after it deployed its mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

The visit made by the then Prime Minister Erdogan to Mogadishu in 2011 was a turning point in the Turkish openness towards the African continent, starting with this country that is struggling to rebuild the central state that collapsed after the fall of the regime of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, and the opening of the Turkish base in Mogadishu in 2017, to translate the Turkish will towards Somalia.

During his working visit to Turkey, Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (September 30 and 1 October), where he met with senior officials, the Turkish-African strategic partnership was discussed in light of the preparations for holding the third Turkey-Africa Summit, which was delayed due to the Covid pandemic 19, as well as “global issues”.

In sum, the Turkish policy towards Somalia reflected two important aspects that helped Ankara strengthen its influence within the continent: humanitarian diplomacy and rebuilding the state, both of which the continent desperately needs in the midst of crises and conflicts afflicting a number of its countries.

Turkey as a new player in the field of security and defense:

Recently, the policies of Turkey's engagement in the African continent have taken a new face, namely, security and defense policies, especially after the resounding success of its drones in Libya, and later in Nakorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since 2015, Turkey has become a rising player in the world of security and defense. This was embodied in the signing of defense agreements and other forms of military cooperation with a number of African countries, including Niger (July 27, 2020), a program of security assistance to Mali (2018), and the provision of assistance from the Turkish Ministry of Defense to Chad to meet the need for Corona (2019). And army members teach Turkish in The Gambia, Sudan and Nigeria. Ankara also provided $5 million to the forces of the five Sahel countries (G5 Sahel), with the aim of strengthening the capabilities of the Sahel countries in the face of terrorism.