Sudan and Turkey to cooperate in energy

Hurriyet Daily News

Sudan and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding in the areas of mining, power generation and hydrocarbons, during Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız’s visit to the African country.

Yıldız said May 26 that they would encourage private sector players active in the energy sector – particularly in wind, solar and hydroelectric power – to invest in Sudan.

“We’d like to benefit from Turkey’s experience in industry, mining and transportation,” said Kemal Abdullatif, the Sudanese minister of mining. Also, Sudanese Electricity and Water Resources Minister Tabita Butros Shokia said they could cooperate with Turkey in wind, solar and nuclear energy.

Turkey and Sudan are set to cooperate in mining, hydrocarbons and electricity generation, particularly renewable energy, in accordance with the deals signed by Yıldız, Abdullatif and Shokia, following negotiations between technical delegations.

Yıldız said Turkey would assist with Sudan’s master power generation plan if help was requested. The minister also had talks about possible investment by the Turkish private sector to build a hydroelectric power station on the coast of the Nile river.

Turkey may buy ‘2 mln tons of Yemen LNG’

Turkey - France struggle on Africa: Turkey Reinforces 'Hands Off' Policy on Mali

Dorian JONES     VOA NEWS

ISTANBUL — The Turkish foreign ministry has criticized the ongoing French operation in Mali. The public criticism comes as Turkey is increasingly seeing West Africa as a region of interest economically and diplomatically.

Ankara has been increasing voicing concerns regarding the intervention by French forces against an Islamic insurgency in Mali.

Northern Mali fell under rebel control after a March military coup in Bamako triggered a Tuareg-led rebel offensive that seized the north and split the West African nation in two.

Turkish foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal questions the timing and whether it offers a solution to the situation.

"We wish to see the situation in Mali to change to a better perspective in the framework of the political will of its people, such as a democratic elections and a free parliament. In that sense we are also not favorable to unilateral action before trying other political methods or other avenues," said Unal.

The Turkish foreign ministry points out the United Nations Security Council resolution on Mali sanctioned only an African led intervention. Ankara's ambivalence over France's military intervention is part of a growing rivalry between Paris and Ankara over West Africa, according to Semih Idiz, a diplomatic columnist for the Turkish daily Taraf.

Turkey and Africa

İbrahim KALIN*        TZ 

Turkey’s Africa opening initiative launched in 2005 gained new momentum this week with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s three-country visit to Africa.
Traveling to Gabon, Niger and Senegal with a large group of Turkish businessmen, Erdoğan stressed Africa’s strategic importance for Turkey. This is a result of the ongoing diversification of Turkey’s foreign policy. But it is also a testament to Africa’s rising significance in the 21st century. Turkey is no stranger to Africa. It has a long history of relations with countries stretching from North Africa to the Sahel region. In a quiet but steady way, Turkey is again establishing strong relations with Africa. High-level visits, diplomatic relations, investment and trade, cultural and educational programs, scholarships and the work of the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA), and Turkish NGOs have changed the old parameters of relations between Turkey and the African continent.

Turkey takes lead in rebuilding Somalia

Alexander Christie-Miller    The Christian Science Monitor

Turkish workers have flooded Somalia - a country many have long considered too dangerous to work in -  to rebuild it and burnish Ankara's image as a regional player and powerful force in the Islamic world.

When delegates from 57 nations gathered in Istanbul last week to discuss bringing peace and stability to Somalia, one country’s efforts got special attention: Turkey.

Since last year Turkish relief workers and volunteers have poured into the Somali capital of Mogadishu – a city deemed too dangerous to work in by most governments – building hospitals, schools, and public infrastructure.

“Since the coming of Turkey there has been a paradigm shift,” says Somalia’s interim Prime Minister Abdulweli Mohamed Ali, in an interview with the Monitor.

He says Turkey has proven that reconstruction and aid efforts can work even as African Union troops battle to claw back parts of the country from the Al Shabab Islamist group, which is aligned with Al Qaeda.

“You can do it simultaneously,” says Prime Minister Ali. “You can create peace and stability by working on the security side, but also on the development side at the same time. That is what Turkey is successful at.”

Turkey tries out soft power in Somalia

Richard LOUGH    REUTERS


* Ankara wields soft power, hard cash in stricken state
* Famine in Somalia sparked huge Turkish relief effort
* Somali PM calls Turkey "Holy Grail" for his country
* Somalia part of Turkish Africa strategy


MOGADISHU, (Reuters) - In a sprawl of plastic refugee shelters and mortar-blasted buildings in Mogadishu, a mud-caked Turkish engineering team monitors the drilling of a new borehole while their armed guards chat lazily under a tree, guns across laps.

These government contractors are on the frontline of a huge Turkish development effort in one of the world's most dangerous cities - one which U.N. agencies and international charities prefer to deal with from the safety of neighbouring Kenya.

Across the Somali capital, a bombed-out shell after two decades of fighting, residents say Turkey has done more in eight months to shatter the perception that Mogadishu is a no-go zone than the international community has achieved in twenty years.

"Our government likes to help anyone in crisis so we came here without thinking anything," said the lead engineer, Mehmet, who asked Reuters to use a pseudonym because government employees are not authorised to talk to the media without permission.

The retreat of al Qaeda-linked rebels from the city in August ended the daily street battles and shelling between the militants and African troops, and offered a rare chance to ramp up aid as a famine gripped central and southern Somalia.

Some 500 Turkish relief workers and volunteers poured into Mogadishu's bullet-scarred wastelands, unleashing a wave of humanitarian aid as the militants struck back with a string of suicide bombings and roadside blasts.

"Of course it is dangerous but we don't think about those things. Inshallah, nothing has happened to us. If we are afraid, we can't operate," the engineer said

Turkish flags - white crescent moon and star on red background - flutter in the coastal breeze and billboards marking out Turkish reconstruction projects dot the capital, where potholed streets are lined by rubble-strewn ruins and mountains of garbage.

Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Turkey make their mark in Africa

Keyur PATEL      The Financial Times

The Bric countries are making headlines in Africa but when it comes to doing business there are plenty of other emerging economies that are also digging deep into the fast-growing continent.
Standard Bank highlights the EM 10 – ten emerging economies that have seen their trade triple in the last decade to $330bn. The big four are the Brics, with a $250bn share in 2011, but the remaining six states between them account for a full $80bn – and are seeing their activities grow faster than the Brics.
The six states include two African nations, Nigeria and South Africa, which is a bit of a cheat. The others won’t come as a surprise to beyondbrics readers -  Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Turkey. But it’s worth noting how diverse Africa’s trade is becoming.

Standard Bank analyst Simon Freemantle wrote in a research note on Friday:

"The BRIC thesis, while neatly encapsulated in a powerful acronym, has become increasingly insufficient in explaining the broad sweep of new partnerships Africa is forging in a postcrisis world. Other large, fast-growing and dynamic emerging markets are increasingly partnering Africa’s commercial reinvigoration"

“Insufficient” might be a bit of a stretch. Standard Bank’s research shows that China, India and Brazil make up more than three-quarters of Africa’s trade with the EM 10 – China alone accounts for almost half. (Russia, by comparison, is relatively small).

                                         Sources: COMTRADE Standard Bank Research

Turkey thinks all humanity should contribute to solution of Africa's problems, President

AA

Turkey's president expressed on Wednesday Turkey's belief that all humanity should contribute to solution of Africa's problems.

ACCRA- President Abdullah Gul said Turkey was closely interested in Africa's problems, and believed that the solution of those problems should not only be left to the Africans.

"Turkey believes all humanity should contribute to solution of these problems," Gul said during a formal dinner hosted in his honor by his Ghanian counterpart John Evans Atta Mills in Accra.

Gul is the first Turkish president ever visiting Ghana.

President Gul said Ghana was a source of inspiration to entire Africa as democracy and free market economy worked there.

Gul said Turkey had re-opened its embassy in Ghana, and distance between Turkey and Ghana had shortened as the Turkish Airlines (THY) started to operate flights to this country.

"I believe my visit will open a new page between our two countries," he said.