Ankara seeking ‘sustainable cooperation’ with Africa via summit

Ankara seeking ‘sustainable cooperation’ with Africa via summit

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (R), who paid an official visit to Ankara in January, is among the heads of state expected to participate in the summit, while Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi is likely to miss the summit. Turkey is hoping to turn its good relations with African countries into "sustainable cooperation" by bringing "new momentum" to these relationships at an upcoming summit to be held in İstanbul.

The Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit will run from Aug. 18-21 at the Çırağan Palace. All 53 member states of the African Union (AU) have been invited to the gathering and so far 43 countries have notified Ankara that they will attend. Not all of the participants' levels of representation are clear yet, though 18 countries have already told Ankara that they will be represented by their heads of state or government. This number could well change prior to the actual summit, officials say.
In response to criticism from some circles questioning whether it is appropriate for Ankara to attach such great importance to a continent so far away from Turkey, diplomatic sources cite a number of links between Turkey and Africa.
"The relationship between Turks and the African continent dates back to the year 868 when a Turkish state [the Tulunids] was established in Africa and was sovereign until 905. This means that even before coming to Anatolia for the first time after the victory of Malazgirt in 1071, Turks were there," a senior diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. "During the Ottoman Empire, there were many territories under Ottoman rule that are now sovereign states, such as Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Eritrea, Djibouti, Sudan and Somalia, as well as the north of today's Ethiopia," the same diplomat explained, adding: "Such experience led to a great respect for Turks; a respect that is still alive in the memories of the African people. Also, the leaders of all of those now-independent states always say they were inspired by the struggle of the Turkish Republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, during the decolonization period that eventually led to their independence."
As of today, Turkey has 12 embassies and more than 23 honorary consulates throughout Africa. This is considered a strong sign of Ankara's good relations with the African continent. Nonetheless, as an essential component of its policy of opening up to Africa, and with a view to further developing its relations with the countries in the region, Turkey recently decided to open 15 new embassies in Africa, which will more than double its diplomatic representation on the continent.
"We need a level of representation in Africa that befits today's Turkey, which is a regional power with a clout surpassing the geographical space in which it is located," the senior diplomat said. In 2005 the Turkish government, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and current-President Abdullah Gül as foreign minister, declared the year "Africa Year," demonstrating its desire and willingness to establish mutually beneficial relations with the continent.
In April 2005 Turkey obtained observer status in the AU and accredited its embassy in Addis Ababa as a representative to the union in May of the same year. At the last AU summit, held in Addis Ababa in January, Turkey was declared a strategic partner.
Ankara actually considers the upcoming summit "The 1st Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit," as it intends to turn this into a traditional summit that will be held once every five years.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who paid an official visit to Ankara in January, is among the heads of states expected to participate in the summit, while Libya is expected to be represented by a state minister.
Al-Bashir's government has been blamed for the tragedy in Sudan's Darfur region, where it has been estimated that hundreds of thousands have been killed in what the United States has deemed genocide. Officials say Bashir's probable participation in the summit will not lead to any diplomatic problems.
No official answer from the office of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, has yet reached Ankara. However, South African officials have expressed their willingness to attend the summit with senior-level representation.
Back in 1992, Mandela did not accept the Atatürk Peace Award after the government at the time announced that it had selected him to receive it. The African National Congress (ANC) stated then, "Quite categorically, Mr. Mandela has not accepted the Atatürk Award and has no plans to visit Turkey. The ANC's attitude does not reflect any negative view of Kemal Atatürk, the reformer and founder of modern Turkey."
The reason behind Mandela's reaction was the fact that the same award had been given to Kenan Evren, the leader of Turkey's Sept. 12, 1980 military coup d'état.