Turkey’s unprecedented expansion of its influence in Africa in the past two decades is raising eyebrows.

Reframing itself as Afro-Eurasian Nation, Turkey is engaged with several African nations in multi-faceted ways—from trade, military cooperation, education, diplomacy, and infrastructure to civil society and political relations.

From one embassy in Lagos in 1962, Turkey today boasts of 42 embassies in the dark continent, with more in the pipeline.  As a result, Ankara has expanded its footprints from the north -Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia to the west Africa nations like Chad, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and then to Angola, South Africa, Congo and more.

Over the years, Ankara has increased its economic heft in the continent— from $5.4 billion in 2003, the total trade volume has increased to $25.3 billion in 2020, with more to come. Bilateral trade meetings and agreements have driven the commercial relationship to greater heights—the latest one was scheduled in December this year.

Unlike China’s relationship with Africa, which is largely commercial, Turkey has laid greater emphasis on social and educational sector. Several non-government organizations have been encouraged to work in the educational as well as social sector in many African countries.

Much of the growth in Turkey-Africa relationship has come during the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He became the Prime Minister in 2003 and his tenure lasted till 2013 when he took over as the President of Turkey. Within two years of his premiership, Erdogan set in motion an African journey which has notched several new milestones in Turkey’s relationship with Africa. In 2005, Turkey decided to observe the year as “the year of Africa”, and in 2008 organised the first ever Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit in Istanbul with active participation from fifty African countries.

At the policy level, significant changes came into effect—Turkey began to define itself as an “Afro-Eurasian state” instead of a “Eurasian state.”  President Erdogan has been assiduously projecting his country as a fair player than former colonial powers like France. He has been keen on projecting a relationship on an equal footing with individual African countries. The sheer number of his own travels to various African countries is a testimony to his commitment towards developing a robust relationship with Africa.  

Erdogan’s key Africa strategy has been to step in to bridge the gaps left behind by the West, mostly former colonial powers. For instance, Turkey helped Somalia withstand one of the worst humanitarian disasters. Ankara’s approach, more visible and transparent than other donors, was widely appreciated by Somalis.

In 2018, Turkey appointed a special envoy for Somalia —a first in Turkish foreign policy—to reconcile Somalia’s federal government and the breakaway region of Somaliland.

In other countries, where militancy has gained ground, Turkey offered ready help in terms of training and equipment. In 2018, for instance, Ankara provided US$ 5 million to the ‘G5 Sahel Force’, a regional coalition, which deployed troops to fight Islamist militants in the tri-junction area conjoining Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

This increased influence in the continent has given Turkey a chance to explore defence markets. In the ‘Horn of Africa’, Turkey maintains a military base in Somalia since 2017. Somali troops undergo regular commando & special operations; counter-terrorism, urban warfare and counter-IEDs training programmes in Turkey. Till date, an estimated 2500 Somali troops have been trained.

In October this year, Erdogan visited three African countries — for sale of UAVs and Armoured Carriers to Angola, and defence manufacturing, energy, mining and hydrocarbons in Nigeria. He signed a joint declaration with Presidents of Togo, Burkina Faso and Liberia reinforcing cooperation in the fight against terror organisations including Boko Haram, al Qaeda, Daesh and FETO (linked to Fethulla Gulen).

What has given Turkey an edge in Africa is its soft power —it currently runs 175 schools, through ‘Maarif Foundation’, in 26 African countries. The foundation also helps in training thousands of African youth. Likewise, ‘Yunus Emre Institute’ promotes Turkish language and culture in Sudan, Somalia, South Africa, and Niger. Organisations like the Turkish Red Crescent, Diyanet as well as some other NGOs, clearly mark Turkey’s role in sanitizing water, opening wells and providing health and education services even in remote regions of the Sahel. Besides, since 2005 Turkey has offered training opportunities to thousands of young Africans through scholarships granted by YTB (Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities), the Turkish agency responsible for scholarship programmes. In 2018, more than 11,000 young Africans were trained in Turkish universities.

Though Turkey is still a new player in Africa, it has sowed enough seeds in the continent to become an influential power in near future. (POREG)