The Forestry and Water Affairs Ministry has vowed to "share its experiences and opportunities" in all areas to contribute to Africa's development on the basis of a win-win principle. In line with the principle of "African solutions for Africa's problems," the ministry will build dams in Mauritania and Senegal.
A statement by the ministry revealed that Forestry and Water Affairs Minister Veysel Eroğlu will visit the two African countries starting today until Friday. Eroğlu will sign trilateral cooperation agreements with the Mauritanian and Senegalese governments in the fields of water works, meteorology and forestry with the objective of further improving cooperation in reforestation, seedling production, combating desertification and erosion, geographic information systems and remote sensing, fire management, nature conservation, protection, development and management of water resources, water and wastewater treatment technologies, monitoring and management of water quality, irrigation, flood management, water well drilling, dam construction, meteorological observation systems, meteorological forecasts and early warnings, meteorological data processing and meteorological research.
During a handover ceremony, Eroğlu will offer equipment that Turkey has donated to Mauretania, including one fire extinguishing vehicle, three water tanks, two drilling machines, two trucks, two compressors, one automatic meteorological observation station, one electricity generator, one welding machine, 100 water counters, various materials and spare parts as well as various laboratory materials such as water balances, ultra-pure water equipment, flame photometry, hot plates, magnifying glasses and conductivity meters to be used in the establishment of a water analysis laboratory in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott.
As part of its endeavors to develop bilateral relations with African countries since 2002, Turkey declared 2015 as "The Year of Africa." Within the framework of a policy called "The African Initiative," Turkey and Africa has made significant progress in terms of cooperation in the fields of education, culture, economy, construction, transportation and infrastructure. When it came to 2013, Turkey ushered in a new era by initiating a new policy titled "The African Partnership," which was based on equal partnership.
Turkey has announced to the whole world on many platforms that it is ready to share its experiences with Africa in all fields. In accordance with this ideal, it provided potable water for nearly 1.7 million Africans by digging water wells in Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Mali, all of which suffer from a water shortage.
