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Turkish president visits Uganda in efforts to boost African ties

Xinhua, May 31, 2016 Adjust font size:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to visit Uganda late on Tuesday on the first leg of his two-country tour that will also see him go to neighboring Kenya.

This is the first time a Turkish president is visiting the east African region, an economic bloc that brings together Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

Strengthening ties with the economic bloc is expected to be a front that Turkey is opening up in deepening its political and economic ties with Africa.

Erdogan in February this year had visited four western African countries that included Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Guinea. Last year, he visited Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia.

According to figures by the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs, Turkey's trade volume with Africa reached 17.5 billion dollars in 2015, representing a three-fold increase in volume compared to the records of 2003. Endit