Türkiye is expanding its energy cooperation with African nations, with a new renewable energy deal with Gambia, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Ministry announced Friday.
Turkish Energy and Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Gambian Petroleum, Energy, and Mines Minister Nani Juwara signed a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation, under which Türkiye and Gambia will develop joint projects for the construction and operation of hydroelectric, solar, and wind power plants, the ministry said in a statement.
The two countries will encourage public and private companies to invest in renewable energy sectors, the ministry added.
Türkiye will share its knowledge and experience in areas such as electricity generation, transmission, and distribution, energy conservation, and energy efficiency, it added.
Earlier in the day, during a keynote speech of a panel discussion titled Energy and Mining on the sidelines of the 5th Türkiye-Africa Business and Economic Forum (TABEF) in Istanbul, Bayraktar said: "In line with our Africa Partnership Policy, Türkiye has signed energy and mining cooperation agreements with nearly 20 African countries, and we are going to sign another one with Gambia."
"Many of these evolving into tangible projects reflecting a relationship built on trust, mutual respect, and shared progress," Bayraktar added.
The Turkish minister said: "We faced many common challenges with it, such as demand increase, lack of infrastructure, import dependency."
"But luckily, under the leadership of President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan, the last 23 years of our energy markets have gone through significant and profound changes," he added.
"We did many reforms. We implemented all these policies and reforms, and successfully managed all the projects, and were able to attract a huge amount of investments, over $100 billion of investments into only our energy generation markets," he explained.
Bayraktar noted that Türkiye and Africa share a common vision to build an independent energy future together. "Our approach is about standing side by side, transforming our ambitions into concrete results that serve our people," he said.
"Because Africa matters to Türkiye, over the last two decades, Türkiye's engagement with Africa has deepened in every field, from diplomacy to education, from culture to tourism, trade, investment, energy, and mining," he added.
Noting that Türkiye stands ready to be part of Africa's future as a reliable partner, Bayraktar said: "By advancing joint projects, strengthening institutional partnership, and facilitating investment and trade, we can build an integrated energy network that connects Türkiye and Africa."
In recent years, Türkiye has taken on an increasingly active role in Africa's energy and mining sectors.
Guided by a "win-win" approach, Türkiye has signed strategic cooperation agreements with numerous African countries, including Somalia, Niger, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Angola, Senegal, Morocco, Sudan, Nigeria, and Djibouti.
These deals, which aim to leverage Turkish expertise, technology, and investment capacity to support joint energy projects, have already led to the launch of concrete initiatives, with collaboration progressing swiftly on multiple fronts.
By Firdevs Yuksel and Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
