On Tuesday the 14th of September 2021, at the invitation of His Excellency Mr. Mehmet MUŞ, Turkish Minister of Commerce, His Excellency Mr. VICTOR TCHATCHOUWO, Ambassador of Cameroon to Turkey, took part in a working breakfast in Ankara.
More than thirty Heads of African Diplomatic Missions accredited to Ankara also attended this working session.
In essence, the debates revolved on one hand around the state of trade relations between Africa and Turkey and on the other hand around the preparations for the 3rd Africa-Turkey Economic and Trade Forum (TABEF), scheduled on October 21 and 22, 2021 in Istanbul.
With regards to the state of economic and trade relations between Africa and Turkey, it should be noted that trade between the two partners increased from 5.4 billion USD in 2003 to 25.3 billion USD in 2020.
Despite these encouraging figures, it was unanimously recognized that trade between Africa and Turkey was below its potential. Within this context, participants expressed their willingness to work towards strengthening trade relations between Africa and Turkey.
Regarding the 3rd TABEF, while stressing the importance that Turkey attaches to the upcoming Forum, H.E. the Minister highlighted that the Ministerial Meeting scheduled for Friday, October 22, 2021, will allow participants to review the state relations between Africa and Turkey and jointly examine new ways and means of strengthening their win-win partnership.
In terms of contribution, H.E. the Ambassador of Cameroon proposed the establishment of such meetings every six months between the African Ambassadors and the Turkish Minister of Trade. This proposal was favorably received and adopted.
As part of the strengthening of trade between Africa and Turkey, the Ambassador campaigned for a greater establishment of subsidiaries of Turkish Banks in Africa and the signing of joint ventures between Turkish and African SMEs.