RELATIONS WITH AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA TO BOOM
Action plan prepared for Africa. Turkish goodwill missions to visit African countries. Maghreb has special emphasis.
A conference was held in the Foreign Ministry between June 26th and 30th to elaborate on Turkey’s policy for Africa and a comprehensive Action Plan appeared as a result of this orchestrated work. The conference was inaugurated by Cem and attended by all the Turkish ambassadors accredited to the African countries, as well as representatives of government agencies and businessmen concerned.
To develop mutual relations with these countries, a new momentum will be given to economic, trade, political and cultural relations, and special goodwill missions will be sent to these countries soon. The Turkish diplomatic missions in Africa will be reinforced and new ones may be opened there. Turkey will become a member of the African Development Bank and intends to extend loans to these countries within a plan. African students will be encouraged to study in Turkey and the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). So far 50 students from Africa have received education at Turkish universities with scholarships from Turkey.
Turkey believes that long-standing problems faced by many African countries today have their roots dating back to their anti-colonial struggle. These countries want to be free of foreign tutelage and Turkey may contribute to it. Given these countries’ sensitivity, Turkey’s Africa policy will be very careful about not interfering in their domestic affairs.
In addition to the enhancement of trade, economic and cultural relations, political contacts will be stepped up with these countries and Northern Africa. Maghreb, with its Arab descent and Ottoman background, will be given special attention during these contacts.
The Algerian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf, has already been in Ankara for a short, but productive visit on June 19th. Naturally Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism was high on the agenda at the Ankara talks. Who would understand Turkey’s complaints of the PKK better than Algeria!
The fruit of this understanding was the Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister’s visit to Ankara a few days ago and his admission at closed door talks that the PKK is a terrorist organisation. The follow-up of that admission was the dismissal of Syrian intelligence chiefs by President Assad after his return to Damascus.
Foreign Minister Ýsmail Cem’s little known “neighbourhood dialogue” policy seems to be coming to fruition with Syria, after Iraq and Iran.
Turkey is trying to persuade its Muslim neighbours that its closer relations with Israel in recent years are not against anybody or at the expense of Palestine or Syria, but that this dialogue enables Ankara to be more effective in playing a more effective and positive role in the region.
“The combination of recent developments in Algeria, the unresolved conflict in Western Sahara and the international embargo imposed on Libya have brought instability to North Africa. The implementation of UN sanctions on Libya is adversely affecting the economies of these countries that have extensive economic relations with Libya”, affirms a Foreign Ministry document. It also points out that Islamic fundamentalism in North Africa, especially in Algeria, is encouraged by such adverse developments.
Starting from this region, Turkish diplomacy is expected to be more active in Africa in the following weeks.
Turkey participated in the UN Force in Somalia by sending a self-sufficient detached army unit of 320 soldiers between January 1993 and February 1994, with Lt. Gen Çevik Bir in command. Similar missions may be fulfilled by Turkey within UN resolutions in future too, according to the new principles adopted for Africa. uras@ada.net.tr.