Turkey was represented by a delegation headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu on the 22nd African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa on 30-31 January 2014.
Foreign Minister Davutoğlu who participated in the opening session of the Summit at which Turkey is represented as a strategic partner met with Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso, Djibril Yipènè Bassolé and was also received by President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, President of Ethiopia, Mulatu Teshome Wirtu and Prime Minister of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe. During the meetings, Turkey’s candidacy for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council, Turkey-Africa relations and regional issues were addressed.
Turkey pays special attention to high-level participation in African Union summit meetings which enable the close monitoring of developments in Africa and bilateral contacts with leaders from the continent.
The African Union, to which Turkey has been an observer since 2005 and a strategic partner since 2008, is the most important international organization of the continent, to which all African countries are members and where issues regarding Africans are discussed directly and at the highest level. Turkey, within the framework of its ever-deepening partnership with Africa, will keep developing its relations and contributing to the resolution of the issues that face the continent.
Turkey – Africa Partnership in Numbers
*Africa had a share of %31 from Turkey’s official development assistance which represents an amount of 772 million USD.
*Higher education scholarships have been provided for over 3000 students from African countries since 2000.
*Turkey is currently providing personnel and financial contribution to 5 of the existing 6 UN missions in Africa.
*The number of Turkish Embassies in Africa has increased from 12 to 35 in last 4 years
*The number of African Embassies in Ankara has increased from 11 to 27 in last 5 years.
*While Turkey’s trade volume with African continent was 9 billion dollars in 2005, it reached 23 billion dollars in 2012.