Turkey, Cote D'Ivoire to boost bilateral relations
| AA Photo


Turkey aims to increase its trade volume with Cote D'Ivoire to a billion dollars by 2020, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during his first visit to the West African country.President Erdoğan made the announcement alongside his Ivorian Coast counterpart Alassane Ouattara at a joint news conference Monday after bilateral meetings in the country's capital, Abidjan.The president hoped that the trade volume between the two countries would increase over the years. "Trade volume between Turkey and Cote D'Ivoire was $330 million last year. It will reach $390 million in 2016. Our goal is to increase it up to $1 billion by 2020," he said.He noted that bilateral ties began in 1964, while the Turkish embassy in Abidjan opened in November 2009.Turkey continues its humanitarian aid to the Cote D'Ivoire through the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and Turkish Red Crescent."Turkey has provided higher education scholarships to 66 students from Cote D'Ivoire and that number may be increased," Erdoğan added.He said both countries reached agreements in the fields of investment, defense industry, medicine, information technology and telecommunications during his visit.Erdoğan said he felt like he was in his second home during his visit to the Cote D'Ivoire."I am happy because I am the first Turkish president to visit Cote D'Ivoire officially," Erdoğan said.Ouattara also expressed his appreciation for Erdoğan's visit."This visit shows a stronger relationship between the two countries," he said."We have signed nine agreements and it shows our desire to strengthen our relations further," he added.Ouattara also said that both sides discussed security and terrorism-related issues."We discussed to advance the fight against terrorism," he said.Erdoğan also reiterated his opinion about the cessation-of-hostilities agreement in Syria.He noted that the ceasefire did not include Syria as a whole and that attacks were still taking place in some regions. "I hope we reach a cease-fire in the whole country soon and peace is ensured," he added.Last week, a cessation-of-hostilities deal was agreed on by Washington and Moscow. It is the latest in a series of diplomatic efforts ostensibly aimed at ending the conflict, which will soon enter its sixth year.Daesh and al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate, al-Nusra Front, along with other unspecified groups designated terrorist organizations by the UN Security Council, were not included in the agreement.The Turkish head of state will also visit Ghana, Nigeria and Guinea during his current Africa tour.Turkey and Cote D'Ivoire signed new agreements in the fields of defense, health and information technologies.