Turkey’s growing interest in the African continent

Abstract

In the last decades major and regional powers became more and more involved in the economy of the African continent, where there is a so called “second scramble” for Africa’s raw materials. This is a major example of multiple economic and other possibilities Africa provides. Dozens of books and studies tell about the African presence of great powers such as the USA, China, Russia, UK or France. We know less about the regional powers that become increasingly important, such as Turkey, India, Japan, Brazil or Iran. Regional powers offer alternatives for African countries who want to cooperate with other states based on their genuine national interests. In this article I present Turkish-African relations because Turkey is a rising power in political, economic and other terms increasingly influencing the African continent. This fact became so obvious that the African Union recognized Turkey as its strategic partner since 2008. Turkey developed good relations with the North African countries because of its historic connections, but Ankara is also getting evermore involved in the economy of Sub-Saharian countries. This is done not only in the framework of inter-governmental cooperation but through Turkish Government-backed organizations – such as IHH and TIKA – and also by Turkish companies. This increased Turkish interest is greatly visible since there are more and more Turkish diplomatic missions in the continent. Turkey emphasises that Ankara also takes part in various humanitarian and reconstruction aid programs, mostly in Somalia, where Turkey is involved in the restoration of the country. The result of this is that Turkey has become an unavoidable actor not only in North Africa but also in East Africa. Furthermore, Turkey is engaged in cultural and educational activities, that is why many African students are studying in Turkish universities and multiple Turkish educational institutes are established and run in numerous African countries. I will specifically deal with the strengthening military, defence and security cooperation between Turkey and African countries.