Turkey has a bright past in Africa and has a bright future in the continent, Ankara's envoy to Senegal Ahmet Kavas said Tuesday.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Kavas reiterated that Turkey's relations with Africa date back a millennium. He also foresees a bright future for Turkey-Africa relations.
Expressing his confidence in the growth of African economies in the coming years, he predicts that African countries will achieve financial independence by the middle of this century.
Regarding the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit, which took place in December 2021, Kavas said it is an indication that progress has been made in some areas because the African public normally receives all kinds of communication from Western-based media agencies.
"News that can be considered anti-Turkey actually does not affect policymakers and opinion leaders in Africa much anymore," he said.
The ambassador continued by touching upon the role of nongovernmental organizations (NOGs), such as TIKA (Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency), the Diyanet Foundation and the Turkish Red Crescent, which appeal to different segments of the continent, especially by going beyond the capitals.
He noted that Turkey's relations with the continent date back to Ottoman times.
"All of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea coasts of Africa, starting from Egypt and extending to the coasts of South Africa in the east, to the coasts of Mauritania in the west, and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the middle, and even the west of the Indian Ocean were the areas that the navies of the Ottoman sailors ruled," he said.
The ambassador noted that Turkey must have something to say for every region of Africa and establish bonds.
