Turkish-African relations have consistently exhibited strong
growth since Ankara declared 2005 as ‘the year of Africa.’ Turkey’s
growing economic, political, and security involvement in Africa re
f
lects Ankara’s need to establish new markets for its manufactured
goods and its defense and armaments industry and present itself as
a relevant regional and global actor different from traditional west
ern players on the continent. African countries have been astute in
their engagement with Ankara in terms of exercising leverage in the
evolving Turkish-African partnership. They seek to attract Turkish
foreign direct investment, diversify economic and political partners
to reduce dependency and fuel their state-building projects. Anka
ra’s domestic economic woes notwithstanding, Turkey’s growing foot
print in Africa will likely continue to produce positive results for both
sides