Turkey’s foreign minister will travel to Djibouti next week to attend a Turkey-Africa ministerial meeting and discuss improving cooperation between Ankara and the continent, officials from his ministry said, Reuters reported.
NATO member Turkey has ramped up its presence and influence in Africa in recent years, increasing trade nearly eight-fold, giving diplomatic and military support to some countries, and inking deals in various fields.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Djibouti meeting would evaluate a previous conference held in 2021 and discuss possible moves to deepen cooperation.
The meeting will be held on Nov. 2-3 and will be attended by representatives from 14 African countries, along with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the officials added.
On Tuesday, Turkey inked a cooperation agreement with Niger on mining, after having signed a similar cooperation deal with the West African nation on oil and gas in July.
Asked about the accord, the officials said Turkey’s Mineral Research and Exploration authority had three gold mining fields in Niger, protected by Niger security forces, and planned to start production there by the end of the year.
Turkey is competing with major powers like France, Russia and China for a foothold in Africa, forging partnerships with several nations and providing armed drones to Somalia, Ethiopia and others.
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