Turkey's Foreign Minister: We aim to win jointly with Africa and move towards the future

The Turkish Foreign Minister delivered a speech at the opening of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries participating in the third summit of the Turkish-African Partnership to be held in Istanbul, in which he stressed that his country aims to win jointly with Africa and move towards the future together.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Friday that his country aims to win common interests with Africa and move forward together towards the future.

This came in a speech he delivered at the opening of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries participating in the third summit of the Turkish-African Partnership held in Istanbul.

The Turkish minister indicated the participation of 16 heads of state and government in the summit, in addition to 102 African ministers, including 26 foreign ministers.

He added, "Our goal is to win jointly with Africa, and walk together towards the future, and our vision for relations with Africa is strategic and long-term."

Cavusoglu pointed out that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is among the leaders who have visited Africa the most, with 50 visits to 30 countries on the continent.

He explained that Turkish Airlines is not only a bridge of friendship between Turkey and Africa, but also connects the continent to the world at the same time.

He continued, "On the occasion of this summit, we will adopt an action plan on what we will do in the next five years, in addition to the joint statement."

He indicated that the five-year action plan includes concrete steps under 5 items, in the areas of development, trade, industry, education, informatics, women, youth, infrastructure, agriculture and health.

He pointed out that, in the coming days, the Organization of Turkish States will send 2.5 million doses of anti-Coronavirus vaccines to African countries as part of efforts to combat the epidemic.

Cavusoglu stressed that Turkey will continue to support Africa in the fight against terrorism, expressing his thanks to African friends for standing by his country in the fight against the "Gulen" terrorist organization.

He stressed that Turkey's history is free from the stigma of colonialism, adding: "Despite those who stigmatize Africa with backwardness, civil wars and coups, and claim that they will not get out of this vicious circle, we will continue to move forward together (with Africa)."

He pointed out that lasting peace can only be established through political stability, stressing in this context that Turkey stands against violently changing elected governments.

He stated that Turkey will soon start using its local vaccine, "Turkovac" against Corona, expressing his country's readiness to cooperate with the African Union and the countries of the continent in delivering it to them.

French magazine: Turkey consolidates its influence in Africa and sells its marches like fresh bread

The French economic magazine "Capital" said that "Turkey has consolidated its influence on the African continent in the era of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, through agreements in the field of defense, especially drones, which have already been received by some African countries such as Tunisia and Morocco."

The French monthly economic magazine "Capital" wrote that Turkey has increased its influence in Africa with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and is selling its armed drones "like fresh bread", in reference to the increasing demand for Turkish drones.

The magazine pointed out that the reputation of the Turkish armed drones was enhanced, as they successfully assisted Azerbaijan in its defense against Armenia last year, and stressed that Turkey desires to develop in the defense sector in Africa following progress in the fields of cooperation and trade, and trusts its armed marches in this regard.

The magazine titled its story with the phrase: "Turkey expands its influence in Africa, and sells its armed drones like fresh bread," and pointed out that Turkey invited African leaders to Istanbul on December 17 and 18, and that this summit, which takes place two months after the economic forum with the continent, Focuses specifically on security issues.

The news touched on the presence of a Turkish military base in Somalia, and pointed out that Morocco and Tunisia received the first Turkish armed marches in September.

And he indicated that Angola showed its interest in the Turkish armed marches during President Erdogan's visit to the country in October.

The news also confirmed Turkey's signing of a military agreement with Ethiopia, and conveyed President Erdogan's phrase: "Everyone is talking about our drones everywhere I went in Africa" ​​(he said it after his tour that included Angola, Nigeria and Togo).

He pointed out that the Turkish armed marches attracted attention for the first time in 2019 through the defense agreements that Turkey concluded with the legitimate government in Libya recognized by the international community and used there.

He added, "Through its armed rallies, Turkey will now sit at the negotiating table with more winning cards."

Al-Khabar stressed that Turkey's efforts to develop cooperation with Africa in the defense sector are not limited to the sale of weapons, military ammunition or vehicles, noting that the army in Togo was created with Turkish support, and that Turkey provided military qualification, ammunition and mine removal vehicles.

He explained that Turkey has gradually strengthened its influence in Africa through 37 military offices.

The Turkish-African Partnership Summit will be held in Istanbul on December 17-18, with the participation of leaders of many countries of the continent in order to raise Turkish-African relations to a higher level.

Merkel held it before her departure Resentment in Germany after the disclosure of an arms deal to Egypt

A letter from former German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier addressed to the President of the German Parliament, "Bundestag", revealed that one day before her departure, Merkel's government agreed to export weapons to Egypt, which sparked discontent among the country's new ruling coalition.

The issuance of permits by the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to export sensitive weapons to Egypt shortly before the change of government caused controversy and resentment between the coalition known as the "traffic light" and the country's new ruler.

Details of the permits came in a letter from former German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier to Barbel Bass, the head of the German parliament, the Bundestag, and was announced Thursday.

The letter appears to have been written on December 7, the day before the new cabinet was sworn in and the chancellorship passed from Angela Merkel to Olaf Scholz.

In his speech, Altmaier reported that the Federal Security Council issued permits for three export operations, accordingly allowing ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to supply three MEKO A200-IN frigates to Egypt.

In addition, the German company, Dell Defense, agreed to supply 16 IRIS-T SLS/SLX air defense systems to Egypt as well.

"I can't imagine that the new government would have authorized this sale," Katja Coyle, who is a minister of state in the German Foreign Ministry, told dpa on Thursday.

It is noteworthy that a wave of controversy has been raised since last year for permits to sell arms to Egypt due to criticism directed at Cairo for human rights violations.

The new German Economy Ministry, which is the ministry entrusted with controlling arms exports, confirmed that this is related to decisions of the previous government, for which the previous government also bears full responsibility, and that the new government intends to deal more restrictively with arms exports.

Observers note that Merkel's government was still in power as a caretaker government only, when the Federal Security Council's decision on sensitive exports was taken.