Why Do African Countries Prefer Turkish Rather Than European Investments?

In his speech during the third summit of the Turkish-African Partnership, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country's relations with the continent have reached levels that were unimaginable 16 years ago.

Relations between Turkey and Africa have witnessed great developments during the past two decades. Through numerous visits and summits, the relations between Turkey and Africa have become considered as a "strategic partnership".

From December 16 to 18, 2021, Istanbul hosted the third edition of the Turkish-African Partnership Summit, which included meetings that brought Erdogan together with many heads and officials of the countries of the continent.

 

Strong Ally

The summit received international and regional attention, due to the large participation of many African heads of state and government, as well as dozens of ministers, representatives of civil society institutions, and the media.

The first edition of the Turkish-African Partnership Summit was held in 2008 in Istanbul, while Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, hosted the second edition in 2014.

The third summit was held under the theme "Strengthening Partnership for Development and Shared Prosperity", with the participation of 16 African leaders and 100 ministers, including 26 foreign ministers.

Among the most prominent leaders participating in the summit are the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, the President of Somalia, Mohamed Farmajo, the President of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Menfi, and the President of Central Africa, Faustin Arjang Touadera.

The President of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El-Ghazwani, President of Comoros, Ghazali Osmani, President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh, as well as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali also participated to the summit.

The summit came at a time when the world is witnessing difficult economic and health conditions, because of the Corona pandemic, and the resulting mutations, the latest of which was “Omicron”, which is believed to have been the cradle of South Africa.

According to the website of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, in 1998 Ankara prepared a plan to open up to Africa to achieve a qualitative leap in the level of political, military, cultural and economic relations with the countries of the continent.

Indeed, in 2003, the Foreign Trade Adviser of Turkey prepared the "Strategy for the Development of Economic Relations with African Countries". The Turkish government declared 2005 the "Year of Africa".

Since that date, Turkish relations with the African continent have diversified, and the number of high-level exchanges has increased, including the signing of economic agreements and the establishment of bilateral economic and political mechanisms between the two sides.

On April 12, 2005, Ankara gained observer status in the African Union, and after about 3 years, the Union announced Turkey in January 2008 as its "strategic partner".

In February 2008, Turkey became a member of the African Development Bank and the African Development Funds, and joined the International Partners Forum of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in June of the same year.

 

Continuous Momentum

During a press conference with the leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chair of the current session of the African Union, Felix Tshisekedi, on the third Partnership Summit, Erdogan said that Turkish-African relations have gained continuous momentum since 2005.

He added that, to date, he has made 50 visits to 30 African countries, and the number of his country's embassies on the continent has increased from 12 in 2005 to 43 in 2021, and "we hope that this number will rise to 49 embassies in the coming period."

While the number of African embassies in Ankara increased from 10 to 37. In the same period, the number of commercial consultancy offices between the two sides that play an important role in the development of bilateral trade increased from 6 to 38.

He also pointed out that more than 14,000 African students have benefited from scholarships in Turkey.

Erdogan said that during the summit, they discussed issues of strengthening the capacities of education, health, agriculture and human resources in the African continent during the next five years.

He continued, "We want to win and grow together and raise the welfare of our people together."

For his part, Tshisekedi stressed that the third partnership summit will boost Turkey's relations with African countries, and the continent will overcome challenges with bilateral cooperation with Ankara.

He pointed out that Turkey is a country that gives special attention to Africa and stands by its side.

 

Winner-Winner

On the secret of this relationship between the two sides, Burhaneddin Doran, head of the Turkish SETA Studies Center (independent), said that Africa was famous in the past for poverty, internal conflicts and immigration, but it has become one of the rising regions in the twenty-first century.

7 out of the 10 fastest growing countries in the world in 2020 are located in Africa, which explains the close interest of the leading countries in the continent.

He added in an article on December 18, 2021 that in addition to Turkey, China, Russia, the European Union, France, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and India are interested in Africa, but Ankara's vision for the continent offers an "alternative" to the current policies of the old and new colonial powers.

According to Doran: Western countries in Africa are criticized for continuing their defunct colonial approach.

For example, France cannot escape the burden of its shameful past, and there is evidence that China plays a role that would establish dependency (debt trap) through “development” on the continent, according to him.

The role of Russia's "security provider" raises concerns about the spread of Wagner mercenaries on the continent.

He added: This is why Turkey's vision, which started with humanitarian aid and which is based on "equality and mutual benefit", is attracting more attention.

Doran explained that Turkey's vision is based on understanding Africa from the perspective of Africans and the concept of joint development.

The areas of partnership between the two sides extend from development aid to infrastructure and agriculture, and from health and communications to defense.

He pointed out that "the performance of Turkish armed drones in the wars of Libya, Syria and Karabakh in Azerbaijan is another reason for the admiration of African leaders for Turkey, and African countries such as Ethiopia, Angola, Morocco and Tunisia have shown interest in purchasing them."

 

Humanitarian Foundations

For his part, Mauritian historian Asaad Boukla, in an interview with the Turkish Anadolu Agency on December 17, 2021, attributed the strength of Turkish-African relations to the humanitarian foundations based on brotherhood, cooperation and mutual partnership.

Boukla pointed out that relations with Turkey differ from other countries with a colonial history in Africa, as Ankara does not impose its agenda as Western powers do.

He indicated that Turkey seeks to develop the African people’s abilities and help them to use their own resources.

Anadolu Agency reported on October 17, 2021 that the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), the Yunus Emre Institute, and the Knowledge Endowment of the Ministry of Education are the most prominent government institutions that are active in development projects in Africa.

The three institutions are known as the soft power of Turkish foreign policies, as they play a significant role in humanitarian diplomacy and in strengthening the bonds of cooperation between Turkey and other countries.

TIKA opened its first office in Africa in 2005 in Ethiopia, and today it has offices in 22 African countries and has implemented 7,000 projects in various fields, most notably education, health, agriculture, construction of water wells, as well as infrastructure development.

Yunus Emre Institute concludes cooperation protocols with many African schools, universities and associations to provide lessons in Turkish language and culture.

The Knowledge Endowment Schools also provide educational, cultural and social activities in those countries, in order to raise the quality of education and to strengthen relations with Turkey.

During a speech on the sidelines of the summit, Erdogan expressed his confidence in the possibility of raising the trade exchange with Africa to 50 billion dollars as a first step and then to 75 billion dollars, after it exceeded 25.3 billion dollars in 2020.

He explained that the volume of trade exchange during the first 11 months of 2021 amounted to $30 billion, and the value of Turkish investments on the continent amounted to $6 billion.

He said that Turkish companies are undertaking more than 1,150 projects on the African continent, worth nearly $70 billion.

Erdogan revealed that his government plans to send 15 million doses of the Corona vaccine to Africa in the coming period, in the absence of global justice in the vaccine distribution process.

While the French magazine Financial Afrique (based in Senegal) said in a report on December 9, 2021 that the Turkish presence on the continent appeals to African youth who are thirsty for seeing the countries of their continent diversify their international relations.

In the area of ​​economic achievements for Africans, it added, Turkey had demonstrated its technical capabilities, its strictness in respect of agreed deadlines, and its commitment to respecting local partners.

It pointed out that Turkey has implemented many humanitarian programs, developed many charitable works, and built many mosques in Africa, most notably the "Ummah" mosque in Ghana, in the west of the continent.

 

Security and Defense

On the other hand, the French channel France 24 reported that hardly a year passes without President Erdogan making at least one visit to the countries of the African continent, the last of which was a tripartite tour that included Angola, Togo and Nigeria in the period between 17 and 20 October 2021.

It pointed out in her report on October 20, 2021 that issues related to security and defense are not absent from Erdogan's agenda, as the absence of security, stability and the threats posed by terrorism in the Sahel and sub-Saharan countries constitute for Ankara a golden opportunity to establish strategic partnerships with these countries.

It added that Turkey produces a lot of military equipment, from frigates, armored vehicles, and missiles to marches, which are "the pearl and pride of Turkish military industries."

It continued: "The Al-Masirah TP2, for example, is 20 times cheaper than combat aircraft and is reliable. It has proven its effectiveness on four fronts in recent years. It is also an important weapon for countries conflicting with their neighbors or those plagued by armed insurgencies."

"In addition to arms trade, Turkey has an important military presence on the continent, with the largest military base outside its territory in Somalia."

Ankara also signed a security agreement, the terms of which are still secret, with Niger in 2020, which includes sending Turkish soldiers to Niamey to train and support its forces in its war against the terrorist organization Boko Haram, adds the French channel.

The same thing was confirmed by the British "Middle East Eye" website, during a report on October 21, 2021, by saying that Turkey has gone beyond its approach through soft power to become a game-changing player in African politics, through sales of drones.

It added that "Turkey has the upper hand in the face of European powers within the continent, because it does not carry a colonial legacy."

 

Distinctive Approach

For his part, Kan Divicioglu, a researcher in African affairs at the Turkish Center for Middle Eastern Studies, considered that Ankara is keen, in its relationship with Africa, to take into account the sensitivities and needs of the countries of the continent, and then proceed with cautious and confident steps.

It is aware of the capabilities and needs of those countries in order to achieve sustainable development, and it harnesses its governmental and private agencies in this way.

He added to Al-Estiklal that Turkey makes important contributions to the development of African countries by giving priority to common interests, not just unilateral ones.

He pointed out that Turkey imposes its presence in the huge African market according to an approach that goes beyond all the activities of other active countries on the continent such as China, European countries or the Gulf countries, and it is clear that this approach has led to an increase in the volume of trade and cooperation between the two sides.

Therefore, it can be said that Turkey, by continuing its current approach and strategies, is likely to bypass the countries with influence and major trade relations in that market.

Divicioglu pointed out that the high level of participation in the third Partnership Summit is a real proof that Africa trusts Turkey. This confidence was certainly not born today.

He also noted that the Africans have a deep affection for Turkey, thanks to the fact that it has no colonial past on the continent.

He indicated that Turkey is adopting humanitarian diplomacy on the continent, yet there are still many steps that must be taken to deepen cooperation between the two sides.