Africa Not Being Represented in UNSC is a Huge Flagrant Injustice; The World is Bigger than Five: Tayyip Erdogan

The third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit was held under the theme of ‘joint development and enhanced cooperation for prosperity,’ in Istanbul under the auspices of the Presidency of the Turkish Republic. The two-day summit comes fast on the heels of a top-level business forum in October that focused on investment and trade. The gathering ensures that the strategic ties between Turkey and African countries are carried forward to a new stage.

The Third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit follows a flurry of activity by Turkey aimed at boosting ties with the continent. In October, Istanbul hosted business leaders and dozens of ministers from African states for a summit aimed specifically at increasing trade. Turkey is aiming to deepen economic and military ties on Africa, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks at a major summit of African heads in Istanbul and called for a seat representing the continent at the UN Security Council. Heads of state from 16 African nations, along with more than 102 ministers and representatives of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States are attending the summit in Istanbul.

“The traces of the common history can be found in every corner of the continent from Sudan to Libya, from Harar to Cape Town, from Mogadishu to Timbuktu,” said Erdoğan, noting that a new page was opened in relations with the continent after the declaration of 2005 as the Year of Africa in Turkey.

“With the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summits organized twice, we have clearly demonstrated the seriousness of our country and the importance we attach to relations with the continent.”

Emphasizing that the Turkish nation has strong human ties with Africa dating back to the 9th century, Erdoğan noted that centuries-old mosques, libraries, inns and ports built in different cities of the continent are just some of the signs of ancient friendship.

“The traces of the common history can be found in every corner of the continent from Sudan to Libya, from Harar to Cape Town, from Mogadishu to Timbuktu,” said Erdoğan, noting that a new page was opened in relations with the continent after the declaration of 2005 as the Year of Africa in Turkey.

Félix Tshisekedi, current chair of the African Union,  AU Commission Chairperson Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, Senegal’s Macky Sall, Ghana’s Nana Akufo-Addo, representing Ecowas, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa and Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria were present and Ethiopian Prime Miniter Abiy Ahmed were attended the summit.

COVID-19 Vaccines

Expressing his happiness to host the participants in Turkey on the occasion of the third summit, Erdoğan also thanked the African Union Commission, which did not spare its contribution to the execution of the summit in spite of the resurging pandemic. He said that Turkey would be sharing 5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine with African countries in the next few months, adding that it was “a disgrace for humanity at large” that only 6percent of the population had been vaccinated so far.

“Our economic investments, educational ties, and cultural exchanges are a testament to our conviction in the promise of the continent,” Fahrettin Altun, Turkey’s communications director wrote on Twitter following a summit in Istanbul. He said that Ankara is proud to host the 3rd Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit and reiterated that Turkey’s approach to Africa is to strengthen relations with the continent as well as invest in a common future.

Meanwhile, Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said “As the theme of this event is ‘Enhanced Partnership for Common Development and Prosperity,‘ we want to march down this path of development with African friends and take our cooperation into the future.” Noting that the three-day event is focusing on health care, education, and agriculture, Cavusoglu said that in addition to a joint declaration, an action plan for the next five years will also be unveiled at the summit, Cavusoglu said:

“This action plan, which will have five main topics, includes concrete steps in various areas such as development, trade, industry, education, informatics, women, youth, infrastructure, agriculture, and health.”

security

Turkey is also ready to share counterterrorism expertise and deliver military technology to countries in Africa, he added. Turkey has a major military base in Somalia, where it has helped build infrastructure for the government and trained security personnel. Turkish forces also have a presence in Libya, where they are backing the UN-recognised government, and Turkish armed drones have played an important part in the conflict there.

“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. Turkey has advanced technology when it comes to the defence industry, and Turkey has a great experience when it comes to counter-terror operations. We are ready to offer this prowess to our African brothers and sisters.”

While details of what kind of military cooperation will emerge from the summit are still unclear, Murat Yigit of the Istanbul Commerce University told Al Jazeera that African leaders had shown a clear interest in Turkey’s defence offerings.

“The successful breakthroughs Turkey has experienced in the defence industry in recent years are certainly reflected in its relations with Africa,” Yigit said. “It was expected to improve defence cooperation with countries such as Somalia, Niger and Ethiopia.“

The Increasing Trade Flow

Bilateral trade between Turkey and African nations has also dramatically increased in recent years. In the first 11 months of 2021, bilateral trade had reached $30bn, Erdogan said on Saturday, and Turkey planned to increase this to more than $50bn in coming years. He added that some 25,000 Africans were employed in the continent by Turkish companies, in projects worth $78bn, and more than 14,000 African students had studied in Turkey.

The enhanced economic cooperation between Turkey and African nations was being driven partly by Turkey’s own desire to diversify its trade partners, said Ismail Numan Telci, deputy director at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Ankara.

“Rather than limiting itself with the immediate neighbours, Turkey has been reaching out to wider regions including Africa to diversify its strategic engagements. In this regard, Ankara has considered African countries to be equal partners in its foreign policy objectives as well as economic goals,” said Telci.

African leaders, meanwhile, were increasingly seeking to find development partners that are outside of historical European centres of power with colonial histories in the continent.

“In recent years, however, these countries have increasingly become aware of their unique potential, not only for economic strength but also for diplomatic and military capabilities. Therefore, these countries became more open to new regional and global powers, including Turkey, to increase their engagements to defend their interests.”

UN Security Council

It is a “great injustice” that the African continent, with its population of 1.3 billion, is not represented in the U.N. Security Council, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Saturday, stressing that representation of Africa in the Security Council is a must.

“Turkey has never turned its back on Africa and African peoples and strongly supported the freedom movements in the continent, especially the North African countries, despite the difficult conditions. As a result of our joint efforts, we have brought Turkey-Africa relations to levels that were unimaginable 16 years ago,”

Referring to his slogan “the world is bigger than five” – a protest to the unrepresentative setup of the UNSC – Erdoğan said Turkey’s efforts were also meant for its brothers and sisters in Africa. “I believe that we need to join forces in order for Africa to be represented in the Security Council as it deserves,” he said in his opening speech of the Third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit being held in Istanbul.

“One-point-three billion people live on the African continent and it is not represented at the Security Council,” Erdogan said on Saturday. This is a huge, flagrant injustice. I am still excited and thrilled every time I visit the continent.”