Africa-Press – Lesotho. THE bilateral trade volume between Türkiye and African countries has risen more than six times over the past two decades, driven by strengthened economic ties and growing cooperation across key sectors.
Trade between the two partners reached 32.8 billion US dollars (81tri/-) at the end of last year, up from 5.4 billion US dollars (13.3tri/-) recorded in 2003, according to Türkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK).
The DEİK President Nail Olpak said Türkiye’s ultimate target is to push the trade volume up to 50 billion US dollars (123.3tri/-) in the coming years, underlining Ankara’s commitment to deepening engagement with the continent.
“We aim to strengthen economic relations with African countries with a perspective focused on a win-win principle, contributing to Africa’s integration, economic development and industrial growth,” said Olpak in a statement.
Türkiye’s exports to Africa stood at 21.5 billion US dollars last year, while imports totalled 11.3 billion US dollars in the same period.
As economic ties continue to expand, the partnership initiative extends towards hosting a two-day high-level trade and investment forum mid next month in Istanbul in Türkiye.
The fifth Türkiye-Africa Business and Economic Forum will be hosted by the Türkiye’s Ministry of Trade, coordinated by the African Union and organised by DEİK.
This year’s event will feature President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, African Union Chairperson and Angolan President João Gonçalves Lourenço and Türkiye’s Trade Minister Ömer Bolat.
With the theme leveraging Türkiye-Africa relations for mutual gains, the forum will focus on priority sectors including agriculture and food, renewable energy, transport and logistics, construction, mining, automotive, textiles, defence industry and digital technologies.
According to organisers, the gathering is expected to attract over 4,000 business leaders from across Africa and Türkiye, alongside key financial institutions such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), Afreximbank and Türk Eximbank.
Through its business councils in 48 African countries, DEİK continues to position Africa as a strategic partner in its global economic diplomacy.
Source: Daily News – Tanzania Standard Newspapers
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