A Turkish Foreign Ministry delegation met Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti in Monrovia on Tuesday for a meeting focused on the establishment of a Turkish Embassy in the Liberian capital and a mutual step by Liberia in Türkiye.
Türkiye and Liberia had little diplomatic contact before the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power more than a decade ago. Under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Türkiye undertook an ambitious “Africa opening” to develop relations with the continent. Liberia is among the few countries for which Türkiye does not have a diplomatic mission. The Turkish Embassy in Accra, Ghana, was accredited to Liberia in 2013, while the Liberian Embassy in Brussels is accredited to Türkiye.
As part of its foreign policy toward the continent, Türkiye increased the number of its embassies in Africa from 12 in 2002 to 44 by 2024. African countries also increased their embassies in Türkiye, and the number of African embassies in Ankara rose from 10 in 2008 to 38 in 2024.
The Liberian media outlets reported that Nyanti met the delegation led by senior diplomat Mustafa Kemal Basa and expressed the importance of strengthening bilateral ties and expanding economic cooperation between Türkiye and Liberia. Basa, quoted by the Liberian media outlets, said President Erdoğan fast-tracked processes for the opening of the embassy and requested allocation of land for an embassy building while inviting Liberia to set up an embassy in Ankara and a consulate in Istanbul.
