Turkiye places 'great importance' on ties with eastern, southern Africa: Envoy

Turkiye attaches “great importance” to the 21-member Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Turkish Ambassador, Huseyin Barbaros Dicle, said on Monday, Anadolu  Agency reports.

“Trade between Turkiye and COMESA currently exceeds $15 billion, which shows that relations between Turkiye and the 21 COMESA members states continues to improve,” Dicle told Anadolu after presenting his letter of credentials to Chileshe Kapwepwe, the bloc’s Secretary-General, in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital.

Dicle, who is also Turkiye’s ambassador to Zambia and Malawi, said he and Kapwepwe discussed avenues for more trade and cooperation.

Two years ago, Kapwepwe attended the Turkiye-Africa business forum and Turkiye also invited her to attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum this April, held in the Turkish coastal city of the same name, he said.

“Among the focus areas for collaboration we also discussed was support for women in business, as you know Turkish First Lady (Emine Erdogan) is very passionate and keen on the empowerment of women,” he added.

Dicle said Turkiye also wants to grow trade and economic ties with Africa, saying the trade volume with the continent has grown from just $5.5 billion in 2003 to $50 billion today.

“In 2008, Turkiye only had 12 embassies in Africa but now has 44 embassies in countries throughout the continent. Some focus areas of our cooperation with Africa include renewable energy, agriculture and mining, as well as trade, economic and political cooperation. These are areas through which we are also closely working with Zambia,” he added.

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