There are many naysayers about the perils of trading in Africa, but Türkiye provides a textbook policy guide for countries outside the continent on how to get it right.
This week saw more than 3 900 government officials and business people from 22 African countries attend the 4th Türkiye-Africa Business and Economic Forum that was held in Istanbul.
Türkiye, which has a gross domestic product just over twice the size of South Africa’s, managed to book some $40 billion (R758bn) of trade with other African countries last year. That is about the same intra-Africa trade that South Africa did that year. In 2003, Türkiye’s intra-Africa trade was only $5.4bn.
Speaking at a briefing at the conference that was hosted by the Turkish Department of Trade and the AU Commission, Professor Ömer Bolat, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye, said Türkiye’s seven times increase in trade into Africa over 20 years, and an 11.5 times growth in sub-Saharan Africa trade over the same period, was not an accident, but was rather due a concerted policy decision by the Turkish government in 2003 to aggressively expand the country’s trade on the continent.
Over this period, Türkiye’s construction companies had completed 1 864 large construction and infrastructure projects in the continent valued at some $85bn.
The number of its embassies in African countries had grown from 22 to 44, while 32 commercial offices were also opened.
In addition, Turkish Airlines now flew to 62 African destinations, which not only made the country’s trading with these countries easier, but it also enabled travelling from those countries. Türkiye had also signed a host of memorandums of understanding and other bilateral trade agreements with African countries. A number of new agreements were signed at the conference.
Bolat said despite many geopolitical and economic challenges globally at present, Türkiye fully intended to continue to grow its trade with the continent. During the conference, a number of new and renewed trade agreements were signed between Türkiye and African countries.
Nail Olpak, the president of Türkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board, said the African Continental Free Trade Area would create a new free market with 1.3 billion people and it would have the potential to meet the agriculture and food needs of the global population.
He said most of the value of Türkiye’s trade with Africa was in the north of the continent and had been focused on construction and infrastructure, which was an area that Türkiye had a great deal of experience and skills in due to the transformation of its own infrastructure.
During a panel discussion on infrastructure development, Finegreen managing partner Jean-Jacques Ngono said that when a project in Africa was “ready to be invested in,” it was already too late, and investors needed to be in projects for the long term, and preferably right from the beginning.
He said there was great opportunity, as Africa was the biggest continent with the youngest population and estimates were that Africa needed at least $100bn of investment for its immediate infrastructure needs.
Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice-president Chabuka Kawesha said the world was in an energy transition and the continent held about 60% of the minerals required for the transition, already benefiting from many new renewable energy-related projects.
Some of the challenges facing infrastructure investment included a sovereign debt pile in Africa of some $1.8 trillion that was inhibiting investment, difficulties in visa processes, and overcoming the problem of investors walking away from projects if they were unable to get a sovereign guarantee, and general transport and logistics challenges.
BUSINESS REPORT