TURKEY: MISSION AFRICA! With its expanding economic presence in Africa, Turkey is sending strong signals to other extra-regional players of its will to venture out of its traditional sphere of influence. SYNERGIA FOUNDATION R E S E A RCH
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urkey is living through an economic nightmare, with soaring prices of essentials pushing inflationary trends and leading to rapidly declining purchasing power of citizens. The long lines outside discounted bread kiosks have led to a public outcry, and clashes have erupted on the streets. The rapidly depreciating lira underscores the deep dependence of the Turkish economy on international financial markets. While the roots of Ankara’s economic worries go deep, the immediate trigger for the current crisis appears to be President Erdogan’s insistence on lowering interest rates in the face of soaring inflation. His pro-growth strategies, based upon exorbitant infrastructure projects financed by foreign investments, had placed Turkey in an enviable position in the past. But a relentless push to expand based on steady borrowing has become unsustainable. Now, when the economic situation does not present a rosy picture anymore, all other parameters are under question too.
EYES ON AFRICA
Turkey has traditionally been a major international trading partner, but its growing footprint in Africa, in particular, has drawn global attention. Its links with the Continent go back in history, right from the times of the Ottoman Empire when it had controlled the entire coastline of Northern Africa from Cairo to Algiers. The Ottoman Empire had provided Turkey with routes into both the Middle East as well as North Africa. However, these ties fluctuated with the rise and fall of its own fortunes and reigning economic realities of the period.
The Ottoman Empire had provided Turkey with routes into both the Middle East as well as North Africa. However, these ties fluctuated with the rise and fall of its own fortunes and reigning economic realities of the period. Since 2002, Turkey has emphasised its engagement with Africa as one of the country’s main pillars under its humanitarian and multi-dimensional foreign policy. It declared 2005 as the ‘Year of Africa’ within the framework of the Africa Action Plan adopted in 1998. Its expansion into the Continent worked through three main pillars: Economic policies, expansion of diplomatic missions, and humanitarian assistance. This soft power approach has paid dividends; its spontaneous humanitarian response to the COVID-19 afflicted African countries, despite its own serious infection rates, reinforced trust and mutual support. The Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit in Istanbul in December 2021 was attended by more than a dozen African countries, reflecting the country’s significance. Currently, Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) has 45 business councils in African countries with a focus on promoting bilateral trade and mutual investment. Turkey’s total trade volume with Africa has expanded from 3 billion dollars in 2003 to 26 billion dollars in 2021.
‘MUTUAL GAIN AND EQUAL PARTNERSHIP’
President Recep Erdogan’s statement - “a fairer world is possible”, is symbolic of Turkey’s approach to Africa as a partnership based on an ‘equal and humanitarian basis.’ This relationship is based on a host of motivations, from
