Roundup: Turkey president to visit Ethiopia, Djibouti to boost business ties

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to visit Ethiopia and Djibouti for a three-day tour starting on Thursday as part of strengthening trade, economic and investment ties in the Horn of Africa.

"Our country has an increasing economic, trade and investment ties with the countries in the region especially with Ethiopia," the statement issued by the press office of the Turkish Presidential Palace said.

The statement described the Horn of Africa as strategic gateway to the Middle Eastern and the world markets, stressing that Turkey has had historical and cultural ties with this region.

"The visit aimed to strengthen these ties further," it added.

Ufuk Tepebas, a former chairman of the Turkish-Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM), said the visit might offer an opportunity to make up for the loss in the influence of Turkey in foreign relations as well as to benefit business opportunities.

"Ethiopia with more than 95 million people is a country in Subsaharan Africa where Turkish companies invested most," he noted. The number of Turkish companies doing business in Ethiopia has exceeded 340.

Erdogan will be accompanied with a group of ministers, bureaucrats and businessmen during the visit.

On Thursday in Addis Ababa, Erdogan will meet with Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

The trade volume between Turkey and Ethiopia was 422 million U.S. dollars in 2013, according to Turkish government data. In the first 11 months of the 2014, the trade volume was recorded as 360 million U.S. dollars, a decrease of some seven percent with compare to the same period in 2013.

Mehmet Sahin, Turkish analyst at Ankara-based Gazi University, said Africa has gained prominence in Turkey's eyes in recent years due to the fact that unlike most countries, such as those in Europe, the African countries' economies have been faring well in recent years in terms of economic growth.

TURKEY TAPS ON DJIBOUTI'S TRADE HUB

At the conclusion of his Ethiopian visit, Turkish President will move to Djibouti the next day, meeting with Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh.

"Djibouti is on the way to become an important trade hub in the region with modern ports and investment in transportation," Tepebas underlined.

The trade volume between Turkey and Djibouti was only 67 million U.S. dollars in 2013, a drop of 25 percent from a year ago. In the first 11 months of the 2014, the trade volume was recorded as 56 million U.S. dollars, a decrease of some 10 percent with compare to the same period in 2013.

Turkey has started to pay more attention to its ties with African countries in the last decade. The trade volume between Turkey and the sub-Saharan African countries reached 7.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, up from 742 million U.S. dollars in 2000, according to data from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Turkish Airlines THY, the national flag carrier, has flights to 40 African cities.

TROUBLES WITH EGYPT, GULEN HAMPERS AFRICAN INITITATIVE

When Erdogan visited Africa on the occasion of the second Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit in Equatorial Guinea in last November, he reportedly got a cold reception because he was very critical of the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Erdogan, a political Islamist, is seen very close to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and he was upset when former Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was ousted from the power.

Turkish experts also warn about exporting Turkey's own domestic issues to Africa.

"It will contribute nothing substantial in our relations (with Africa) when Turkey's domestic debates and problems get carried over to Africa," Tepebas said.

Turkey's pro-government media speculated that Erdogan will raise the issue of Turkish schools in Africa that are seen as affiliated with Hizmet movement, which is inspired by teachings of moderate Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

The schools that were set up by private Turkish businesses have long been regarded as important in terms of Turkey's soft power and were backed by consecutive Turkish governments for decades as well as host countries for contributing to promoting educational and cultural ties.

However, Erdogan and Gulen fell out over corruption scandals in December 2013 that implicated senior government officials in Turkey including Erdogan's son. Gulen is also staunchly opposed to the abuse of religion by Islamists for political purposes.

"Erdogan's taking his rift with Gulen to Africa will blow back to his face because Africans are very sensitive on efforts to turn the continent as battleground for others' domestic problems," Mesut Cevikalp, an author who recently wrote a book on Turkish schools abroad, told Xinhua.

During a visit to Turkey last August, Ethiopian President Teshome praised Turkish schools in Ethiopia, saying that "as far as providing quality education, it is helping in the development of education, and we don't have any problems with the schools."

The Turkish president plans to travel to 10 more African countries this year, after visit to Ethiopia and Djibouti. Endit