By Ali Kemal Akan
BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (AA) – Unlike colonialists, Turkish people treat African people like their family and friends, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Tuesday.
“Turkey sees and accept African societies as friends and brothers, contrary to the colonial mindset,” Kurtulmus said at the grand opening of the Kintele International Conference Center, funded by Turkey’s Eximbank, in Brazzaville, the capital of the East African nation of Congo.
He underlined that over the last decade, Turkey has placed a great deal of importance on Africa, since its official outreach to the continent began.
“Africa has faced tremendous tragedy and trauma over the last century,” Kurtulmus said. “African people, who are gaining economic and political independence, will become one of the biggest powers in the global equation in the next century.”
Turkey wants to strengthen cooperation with Africa in all sectors, including education, healthcare, and culture, he said.
Kurtulmus also urged Turkish businessmen to invest in Congo, as such initiatives would forge closer links between the two nations.
Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso and Prime Minister Clement Mouamba were among the dignitaries at the opening ceremony.
In 2005, Turkey’s official outreach to Africa gained new momentum when, then prime minister, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared 2005 the Year of Africa, and Turkey was accorded observer status by the African Union.
