Djibouti: The Turkish foreign minister is set to attend a two-day conference on the Africa-Turkiye partnership in Djibouti, as shared by Turkish diplomatic sources. The conference, scheduled for this weekend, marks the Third Ministerial Review Conference of the Turkiye-Africa Partnership and will see Hakan Fidan holding bilateral meetings with representatives from the host country and other African nations. This visit is notable as it is the first foreign ministerial-level visit from Ankara to Djibouti.
According to Anadolu Agency, Turkiye has been one of the African Union’s (AU) strategic partners since 2008, engaging in regular summits to plan bilateral relations for five-year periods. The most recent summit took place in Istanbul in 2021, with the next anticipated in an African country in 2026. The conference in Djibouti aims to review the outcomes of previous summits, with the first two held in Istanbul in 2011 and 2018.
During the conference, Fidan is expected to reaffirm Ankara’s commitment to Africa,
emphasizing that their partnership is based on mutual respect and benefit, focusing on humanitarian, social, and economic development, aligned with the continent’s priorities. He will also address Turkiye’s support for Africa’s representation in global politics and multilateral platforms, notably the UN, and advocate for the AU’s full membership in the G20 and enhanced relations with African regional organizations.
The conference will bring together foreign ministers from 14 African countries, including Djibouti, Mauritania, Angola, the Republic of Congo, Ghana, Comoros Union, South Sudan, Chad, Libya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Egypt, along with AU Commission representatives. Discussions will center around the 2022-2026 Joint Action Plan, which includes projects on peace and security, trade, education, infrastructure, and health development. The conference will assess progress on this plan and explore ways to strengthen the partnership.
The event is expected to culminate in the adoption of a joint decl
aration and the 2022-2024 Joint Implementation Report. These documents will outline plans for advancing Turkish-African relations leading to the Fourth Partnership Summit and address regional developments. The implementation report will also detail Turkiye’s activities in Africa during 2022-2024 and propose enhancements for cooperation.
The African Union, comprising 55 member states across the African continent, was officially launched in 2002 as the successor to the Organization of African Unity.