Turkey FM: Trade with Africa to hit $50 bn in five years
“Africa has now taken its destiny in its own hands,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
MALABO, Equitorial Guinea
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday said that Turkey-Africa trade will hit the mark of $50 billion in a period of five years from 2015.
“In the last decade, the total volume of Turkey’s trade with Sub-Saharan Africa has increased tenfold,” Cavusoglu said, speaking at the 2nd Turkey-Africa Summit in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.
“Africa has now taken its destiny into its own hands,” he said.
“In 2013 Turkey's bilateral trade volume has reached $23 billion and our joint aim is to reach the target of $50 billion by 2018,” he said.
“Africa is clearly taking off,” he said. “The continent has recorded an annual growth rate of over 5 percent.”
Turkish investments in Africa are employing local human resources, using local products as components and selling products in third countries.
The summit is being held under the theme: “The New Model of Partnership for the Strengthening of Sustainable Development and Integration.”
“The summit will contribute enormously in enhancing political, cultural and economic partnership," Cavusoglu added.
The summit will discuss the "Joint Implementation Plan for Africa-Turkey Partnership 2015-2018." The plan is intended to submit priority areas of cooperation for endorsement by heads of state at the summit.
The ministers, during their closed-door session, will also evaluate the Matrix of Key Priority Projects of the Africa-Turkey Partnership 2015-2018 -- these include seven short-term projects proposed by the African side.
They will also prepare the 2nd Africa-Turkey Summit Joint Declaration.
Priority areas of partnership for the period ending 2018 will be health, cultural exchange, trade and investment, scholarships, peace and security.
Two hundred business leaders, along with a delegation led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and including Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, are attending the three-day summit, in addition to leaders from several African countries.
Thirty-two other African countries are attending the event as observers. Most invited countries are being represented at the event by their respective heads of state. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, however, is not expected to attend the summit.
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