Turkish businesspeople have invested $2.3 billion and employed 35,000 people in Africa, while the country’s construction business has been actively working on the continent with over 2,300 projects under its belt, the Turkish trade minister said.

Speaking at the Türkiye-Africa business event, the World Cooperation Industries (WCI) Forum, in Istanbul, Omer Bolat said Turkish construction projects on the continent totalled $97.5 billion, accounting for 18% of the construction businesses' overseas projects.

“Tens of thousands of Africans have been employed with our investments on the continent,” he said. “Africa has been very close to us, as it takes only a 45-minute flight from Türkiye’s southern coast cities to reach the continent.”

“Türkiye–Africa relations accelerated rapidly in politics, diplomacy, trade, tourism, and investments after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took office at the end of 2002,” he noted, adding that the year 2005 was dubbed the “Year of Africa” in Türkiye after the Turkish government announced its strategy for the region in 2003.

Large embassy presence

“Turkish Airlines plays a key role in bridging 54 African countries to the world, while the number of our embassies on the continent rose from 12 in 2003 to 44 — we hope to reach 50 embassies soon,” he said.

“The total trade between Türkiye and the African continent was $5.4 billion in 2003, but this figure rose sevenfold to $36.5 billion by 2024, while our exports totalled $21.8 billion and we imported around $15 billion,” he added.

The minister said work is underway to strengthen relations with some 26 Muslim-majority countries in Africa, while the key sectors Türkiye is interested in in Africa are machinery, electrical, chemicals, automotive, agricultural products, and ferrous and steel products.

Bolat said the Turkish Ministry of Trade participated in 65 events held on the African continent in 2023–24, while Türkiye organised 33 business events in the region this year. Meetings were conducted with more than 50 African state officials, while some 79 procurement delegation programmes were organised in the last two years, he added.

Potential for more growth

The minister noted that African exports to Türkiye included raw materials, energy products, petroleum, natural gas, oil, mineral products, cocoa, coffee, sesame seeds, and other agricultural products.

“We have also seen a major breakthrough in the service sector,” he said. “I can say with confidence that Türkiye’s total exports will reach nearly $400 billion by the end of the year, $274 billion of which will be goods and $123 billion of which will be in services.”

“Türkiye’s service exports to Africa reached $6 billion in 2023, while Africa exported $5.1 billion worth of services to Türkiye,” he noted. “Meanwhile, tourism grows every year—some 1.5 million African tourists visited Türkiye in 2024, while some 600,000 have visited so far this year.”