Wilson Center Panel – Elem Eyrice Tepeciklioğlu’s Presentation
Dr. Elem Eyrice Tepeciklioğlu has been invited to the panel organized on April 4, 2018 by the Wilson Center Africa Program. The topic of discussion was “Beyond the Big Three: Africa’s Economic Relations with Brazil, India, the Gulf States, Turkey, and Japan.”
She offered an overview of the growing relationships that Turkey has been forging with Africa countries. While Turkey’s engagement with North Africa dates back to the time of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey is starting to see more opportunities, particularly with trade and business, with countries south of the Sahara, including with South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania. Further, the Turkish Government is making it more of a priority to engage with Africa, and it has helped facilitate the growth of business and trade relations. Small- and medium-sized Turkish companies have particularly started to invest as African markets have become more accessible. The Turkish Government has used development aid to help facilitate commercial interactions, and the Turkish image and presence has been enhanced by the engagement of private companies (like Turkish Airlines, which has routes to 40 destinations in nearly 30 African countries), NGOs, and the opening of Turkish schools. In addition, Turkey has helped to create a significant number of jobs in Africa, unlike some other partners who bring their own workers to Africa. In 2015, for example, Turkish projects provided employment for 30,000 people in Ethiopia, which is the largest number of people employed by a foreign country. In order to build on existing relations, there is a need for more Turkish-African cooperation in the energy sector and in the security sector, particularly in combating terrorism and violent extremism.
For the webcast of the panel, please click the following link:
For the selected quotes from Elem Eyrice Tepeciklioğlu’s presentation, please see below:
“Africa, for Turkey, is actually a new area, and the interest was not always there… It was mainly after the adoption of the action plan for opening up to Africa in the late 1990s. Although trade with Africa is on the rise, it is still not at expected levels.”
“Turkish enterprises, especially small and medium-sized companies, now see that Africa can offer them more opportunities in order to meet their economic interests. In the search for more business opportunities in the continent, the investment [through these companies] has reached $6 billion in 2016.”
“I believe that Turkey should cooperate with African countries in the fight against terrorism… Turkey has significant military capabilities, and this might help African countries to develop their capabilities in this field. Such cooperation may lead to the development of commercial relations as well. I see this as a very important area of cooperation, where both sides can mutually benefit.”