Turkey has achieved significant success with its African initiative policy launched in 2005. There is almost no African country Turkish Airlines does not fly to. Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) has offices in many African countries and continues its development projects without pause. Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate and Red Crescent have outperformed European charities. Embassies have been opened in most African countries and currently relations are maintained directly.
But these initiatives, investments, and projects are not enough. Turkey appears to be at the beginning of the road. Compared to global powers such as the U.S. and China, we continue with modest successes. The economic situation in Turkey also has a certain impact on this course. There seems to be a standstill to some extent due Turkey’s austerity. Without an exception, all Turkish organizations that I speak to mention austerity measures regarding their activities in Africa. The Yunus Emre Institute has already started to retrench. Projects are being halted, and teachers are being called back.
Turkey’s economic experiences due to global aggression are evident. Maybe even the projects that were started in Africa will stop and no new projects will be initiated. Many people working in Africa will be called back for the sake of financial savings, and even if they are not called, their budget will be constrained.
I wrote in this week's issue in Gerçek Hayat (Real Life) magazine that China is on the way to be a rising power in Africa. Since the new Silk Road passes through Africa, China is making plans for the next 50 to 60 years, not five to 10 years. Cities similar to those in China are being formed in Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria and Angola.
Ambassadors who advocate Erdoğan’s mission are required in Africa
I have to admit that I was excited when government orders regarding embassies were announced last week. Because every Ambassador assigned to Africa is a new beginning in a sense. It enables new and strong steps, and thereby the strengthening of relations. I personally witnessed it in the examples of Sudan and Somalia. The newly appointed ambassadors took our relations with these countries even further. In many fields, especially in economy, they have promoted Turkey.
I should also say that during my seven years in Africa, I observed some ambassadors who have neither the same mission nor vision as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. However, every ambassador represents our president in that country and they have to strive, carry out efforts and struggle like him. They must give up their past habits and work for Turkey day and night in the countries where they serve. The days where life revolved around the embassy-residence-hotel cycle and cheese dipped in French wine are over.
Our foreign affairs are the product of a very deep-rooted tradition. I always believed that the reflexes of this institution should be evaluated differently. But I think I have right to give some advice as part of my responsibility and for the sake of my years spent in Africa.
The ambassadors sent to Africa should not be sent for a short time, but for at least three to five years. In other countries, you can manage many works through paperwork, but if you are to work in Africa you have to be on site. You should talk in the Africans’ language, eat their traditional foods, and augh and have fun like them. “In Africa, everything is lived on site and dies there.” This is actually an African proverb. This institution should compel the officials in Africa to learn the local language. If you maintain your relationships through the colonial language, there is a problem there.
We should switch from water well diplomacy to multilateral-cooperation
We cannot solve the water shortage problem in Africa by opening wells. In some African countries, the water shortage problem can only be solved through global solutions. However, we must applaud the people and institutions who have opened water wells to date. At times they were a savior and a source of hope, and at other times they were the remedy for the humanitarian issue ignored by global actors for centuries. Now we have to transform water well policy into a policy to build cities and revitalize the old civilization we built together.
Your businessmen must be the driving force in this new policy. They should not only think about their own benefits, but also the interests of Turkey and Africa. An investment in Africa should also contribute to Turkey. It must be so both in terms of employment and return on investment. Hefty investments in Africa are especially needed in areas such as construction, chemistry, health, transportation. The days of small business in Africa are over. The only way to survive is to contract for big projects by establishing joint ventures.
We see that education in Africa is still a big problem. The Maarif Foundation has carried out important work in Africa since the early days of its foundation. Many schools of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) terrorist organization were taken over and new schools were opened. Now I think that the new goal of Maarif will be to focus on quality education. The country coordinators of Maarif and the teachers coming from Anatolia have great tasks. Today is the day to strive to make sacrifices for Africa and Turkey. The economy may have ups and downs every now and then, but Turkey should not retreat, rather make further progress in Africa with respect to its aims.
Maarif should not be satisfied with opening school only; it should also develop social projects to improve social relations with the African people and to ensure integrity. Because the social life in Africa is intertwined with education, it is impossible to separate one from the other. There is an urgent need for cultural centers and youth complexes.
An African presidency is a must!
Our greatest drawback in Africa is a lack of coordination. Embassies may remain incapable of such coordination due to their workload. We need an African presidency affiliated to the Turkish Presidency to show that we attach more importance to Africa and to make our achievements permanent. If our activities in Africa are carried out through a common mind under a presidency, we can achieve more efficient results.
We're in Africa now. We want both Turkey and Africa to win. We burnt our boats on our way to Africa, this time there is no return. So let's act like all the organs of a body and build the rising Africa together.
