Turkish Foreign Ministry marks Africa Day

ANKARA

Turkey's Foreign Ministry marked Africa Day on Tuesday by pledging to improve cooperation and strengthen partnerships with African countries to make them more visible on the international stage.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter, "With our 43 Embassies in Africa, we are improving our cooperation with the whole continent day by day."

Cavusoglu also re-shared a video on the ministry's Twitter account on occasion.

In the video, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "Inspired by our faith, our values and our unique history on the continent, as Turkey, we do not leave a friend, whose door has not been knocked, a heart that has not been healed, and a state without cooperation in Africa."

There were congratulatory messages from some of Turkey's foreign missions in Africa in the video.

Separately, Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran, in a social media message, said: "It's #Africa Day. We continue to strengthen our partnership for an effective and visible Africa on the world stage. Happy Africa Day!"

The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was established on May 25, 1963, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by 32 signatory governments. However, on May 26, 2001, the OAU was legally transformed into the African Union (AU) in the same city and has grown to become a 55-member African Union.