[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

19 August 2008

Salutations
Master of Ceremonies,
President of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Abdullah Gül,
Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Mr Recep Tayyip
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ali Babacan,
UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon,
AU Commission Chairperson, Mr. Jean Ping,
Honoured and Distinguished Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen

I am greatly honoured by this invitation to address the First Africa-Turkey Summit in this beautiful city of Istanbul.

The strategic partnership we are forging through this Summit strengthens our historic relations which, as His Excellency Abdullah Gül pointed out, date back to the "Ottoman Empire (which) had contacts with the (African) Continent over a vast geography stretching from East and Central Africa to Zanzibar of today's Tanzania".

I observe that this Summit follows the decision of the African Union (AU) in January this year to declare the Republic of Turkey a strategic partner of Africa and also follows the announcement by Turkey that 2005 should be the 'Year of Africa'.

In coming together with the Republic of Turkey we say that we fully support and endorse the message of 'Solidarity and Partnership for a Common Future' that is based on mutually beneficial interactions at the political, economic, and social levels.

We endorse mechanisms of building a common future because we recognise and acknowledge the status of Turkey as an important emerging economy in the world, ranked seventeenth among the world's top twenty market economies.

This must also mean Turkey has a good understanding of matters effecting emerging economies. While many African countries do not rank as high, their progress especially in the last ten year's has been remarkable.

Africa has embarked on a continuous process of establishing strong democracies in its regions. We have revived the African Union and created initiatives like the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), so as to institute the rule of law, respect for democracy, promotion of free and fair elections, and engender policies that fight poverty and unemployment; so that we reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. For the sake of all humanity, and Africa especially, we must score very high on the MDG's and we must correct underperformance.

This Summit takes place in a background of a prepared foundation, the ground that was prepared in 1998 when Turkey took up and approved the African Outreach Policy, whose goal was aimed at developing ties between Africa and the Republic of Turkey. This goodwill and outreach has to be given content and measurable outcomes.

I am pleased to say we can identify progress that has been made in the last 10 years or so, while at the same time, we have to admit that we still have to maximise the potential that also exists, so that it fully benefits our countries and improves, for the better, the lives of our all people. The Istanbul Declaration has to lay a firm basis for practical co-operation and give momentum to the mechanism of actualising this declaration.

The Framework for Co-operation has identified eight areas for mutual assistance, areas that cover: intergovernmental co-operation, trade and investment, health, peace and security, infrastructure development in energy, transport and telecommunications, culture and education, and in media and communication.

All of these are keys in NEPAD at both regional and national levels and in our co-operation we can draw lessons from the Turkish success. The numbers speak for themselves. I am informed that the growth rate of Turkey has been six-point-seven percent (6,7%) on average for the last seven years, and that this country has enjoyed a GNP and recorded sustainable growth of about six-hundred billion dollars ($600 billion).

It is indeed praiseworthy that this country's total foreign trade volumes reached two-hundred-and-seventy-seven billion dollars ($277 billion) in the financial year of 2007. Of course, we are proud that Africa has gained its share of advantage from these impressive trade figures.

I learn that trade volumes between Turkey and African countries, which stood at five billion dollars ($5 billion) in 2003, have increased and amounted to twelve-point-eight billion dollars ($12,8) in 2007. By the same token, it pleases us greatly that Turkey's target is to reach a trade volume of thirty billion ($30 billion) by the end of 2010.

That can be done. We must ensure that such numbers can translate into a better life for our citizens. For this to materialise we need more direct public and private investment by Turkish businessmen and businesswomen in Africa, to exceed beyond the current four-hundred million dollars ($400 million). Africa is a harvest of opportunity. We need more small and medium size enterprises, women and closer co-operation between State enterprises.

Indeed, the Framework of Co-operation we will be adopting at this historic Summit lays the basis for stronger and increased regional co-operation so that we consolidate our respective country's places in world affairs.

That ordinary citizens experience a better life, the objectives of the MDG's must NOT be sacrificed in the rhetoric of growth. As a continent whose star is rising, Africa is poised to take its rightful place in the League of Nations. Of course, to do this, we need to work with partners and friends who are guided by the motto espoused by Turkey's founder father Atatürk, which says, "Peace at home, peace in the world".

We welcome this Summit for affording us a platform for generating collective dialogue based on a relationship of mutual benefit and mutual respect. We wish to salute and thank the Republic of Turkey for the $12 million humanitarian assistance and furthermore for providing personnel and material contributions to six of the existing eight UN missions in Africa.

I do not need to remind you that for peace to take root and make a lasting impact on the lives of all our people, we need development in all spheres of society. As the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said: "without peace there can be no development, and without development there can be no peace".

The interdependency between peace and sustainable development must be emphasised. With economic co-operation and increased Turkish investment initiatives into Africa, we need increased commitment towards skills transfer to Africa. That is a necessary condition for balanced development and sustainable partnership.

It is with this in mind that we thank Turkey for investing in Africa's biggest resource, its people through the provision of higher education scholarships to almost 2000 students from Africa since the year 2000. Education, education and more education is what our continent needs. We are the youngest continent and we can turn that into a competitive advantage by making young men and women raise the fortunes of Mother Africa; especially if we ensure the education of young girls.

I am further encouraged and heartened by the co-operation of Turkey with regards to the involvement of technical experts in the fields of agriculture, agribusiness, rural development and water resource management, Africa's struggle against malnutrition, communicable diseases, efficient transportation network, energy and mineral resources exploration and evaluation, and through sport and cultural exchanges. The current food crisis has taught us the importance of increasing our food production. The time is now.

Agriculture is a core sector of Africa in realising food security, poverty reduction and sustainable economic growth. It is, therefore, imperative that as a key sector that promotes overall economic and social development, with its impact extending beyond economic growth to impact issues such as poverty reduction, a collaborative effort to increase food security needs must be prioritised in the Framework of Co-operation document to be adopted.

With our minerals in Africa we must work with partners who will assist us in adding value to our own continent and industrialise at the back of our minerals. Turkey's competitiveness in mineral value addition, in the areas of jewellery manufacturing, the textile industry production of machinery is what Africa needs.

I am informed that Turkey has the second largest jewellery manufacturing sector in the world after Italy. Extraction of African minerals without value addition is not in Africa's interest. All of this is very significant for our continent's development of human resources, for the creation of local employment and for the efficient utilisation of our continent's natural resources. This is what we mean when we talk about a partnerships founded and based on respect and mutual benefit.

In conclusion, all of these frameworks for strategic co-operation and political intent from our respective countries are important and will have lasting value if there is supervision and monitoring of implementation programmes. This is why I take heart in the fact that in our resolutions there is in place follow-up mechanisms agreed to between the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Commission of the African Union.

The required budgetary resource allocations will have to be set and measured against realistic and clear deliverables and timeframes to ensure that the momentum of this auspicious Summit is sustained in the critically important implementation phase.

Our people need tangible results to have confidence in this partnership between Africa and Turkey. We owe it to ourselves to say, nothing less than practical outcomes will do for this strategic relationship to continue and be sustainable.

Finally, we will seek to attain a synergy between this Co-operation Partnership and various other regional multilateral agreements concluded with the African continent, to ensure a consolidated approach and implementation of the African Agenda.

I am convinced that in the Republic of Turkey we have a friend and a partner for life.

To friendship!

Thank you.

Issued by: The Presidency
19 August 2008