Turkey and Africa share many visions regarding their future and have mutually beneficial relationships
Turkey’s relations with Africa date back to Ottoman era. However, due to the Cold War, Turkey’s foreign policy was subject to the bipolar system in the second half of the 20th century. It was the disappearance of the two opposition blocs that led Turkey to establish relations with the Balkans that emerged from the Soviet rubble—and Africa.
In 1998, Ankara declared the “Africa Action Plan” program aimed at forming effective ties with African countries by increasing Turkey’s diplomatic representations in the continent, improving official representation cadres of some sub-Saharan African embassies, increasing political communications and consultations in global organizations, enhancing business and economic cooperation, and promoting humanitarian aid to Africa. However, the Turkish government fell short of realizing this ambitious plan, which was mainly due to the earthquake in 1999 and the economic crises in 2000/2001.
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