Turkish businesspeople have invested $2.3 billion and employed 35,000 people in Africa, while the country’s construction business has been actively working on the continent with over 2,300 projects under its belt, the Turkish trade minister said.
Speaking at the Türkiye-Africa business event, the World Cooperation Industries (WCI) Forum, in Istanbul, Omer Bolat said Turkish construction projects on the continent totalled $97.5 billion, accounting for 18% of the construction businesses’ overseas projects.
“Tens of thousands of Africans have been employed with our investments on the continent,” he said. “Africa has been very close to us, as it takes only a 45-minute flight from Türkiye’s southern coast cities to reach the continent.”
“Türkiye–Africa relations accelerated rapidly in politics, diplomacy, trade, tourism, and investments after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took office at the end of 2002,” he noted, adding that the year 2005 was dubbed the “Year of Africa” in Türkiye after the Turkish government announced its strategy for the region in 2003.
Large embassy presence
“Turkish Airlines plays a key role in bridging 54 African countries to the world, while the number of our embassies on the continent rose from 12 in 2003 to 44 — we hope to reach 50 embassies soon,” he said.
“The total trade between Türkiye and the African continent was $5.4 billion in 2003, but this figure rose sevenfold to $36.5 billion by 2024, while our exports totalled $21.8 billion and we imported around $15 billion,” he added.
