http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/18985/turkey-looks-to-play-larger-economic-and-security-role-in-east-africa
Turkey Looks to Play Larger Economic and Security Role in East Africa
The Editors Monday, June 6, 2016
Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went on a four-day visit of East Africa, stopping in Uganda, Kenya and Somalia to promote trade, tourism and security ties. In an email interview, David Shinn, an adjunct professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and former U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia, discussed Turkey’s outreach to East Africa.
WPR: Who are Turkey’s main partners in East Africa, and what are the key areas of cooperation?
David Shinn: Turkey has an embassy in every country in East Africa and the Horn of Africa, but has made a special effort to cultivate relations with Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. The biggest surprise is the attention that Turkey has given to Somalia, still considered by many to be a failed state. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has just completed his third visit to Somalia since 2011. In 2013, Turkey received the first contingent of 120 Somali military personnel that it agreed to train, arm and support. At the beginning of this year, a Turkish official commented that Turkey would build a military training center in the capital of Mogadishu. Turkey offers hundreds of scholarships to Somali students, trains many Somali police, and has provided $500 million in aid. One senior Somali official recently told me that Somalia’s most important bilateral partner is Turkey.
Economic ties are Turkey’s priority with the other countries in East Africa and the Horn. Turkish Airlines flies to every country in the region. The Turkish private sector has been particularly attracted to investment opportunities in Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya. Ethiopia, Sudan and Tanzania are Turkey’s largest trading partners in the region, although trade remains at a modest level. Increasing numbers of students from East Africa are currently studying in Turkish universities, including more than 400 from Kenya alone.
WPR: What were the objectives of Erdogan’s recent Africa tour, and what are the obstacles to greater cooperation between Turkey and East Africa?
Shinn: The primary objective was to strengthen economic ties with East Africa. To emphasize this point, Erdogan took with him a delegation of 135 Turkish entrepreneurs. Turkey launched business forums in Uganda and Kenya. The presidents of Turkey and Kenya signed three bilateral agreements. While in Kenya, Erdogan also promised to share its counterterrorism experience. Behind the scenes, Erdogan probably continued his campaign to shut down the primary, middle and secondary schools established by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim preacher in exile in the United States who has had a falling out with Erdogan. Of the countries that Erdogan visited, there are three schools in Uganda, eight in Kenya and four in Somalia.
The greatest obstacles to increased cooperation between Turkey and East Africa are the low levels of trade and the fact that Turkey, in 2014, had a trade surplus with every country in the region. In the case of Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti, Turkey’s exports were at least 25 times greater than imports, and for Ethiopia and Kenya they were at least five times higher. Erdogan’s effort to shut down the popular Gulen-affiliated schools in the region is also an issue that African leaders prefer to avoid.
WPR: How does Turkey’s diplomatic and economic outreach in East Africa compare to other partners of the region?
Shinn: Turkey has made an extraordinary effort to reach out to the countries of East Africa and the Horn. Only China, Qatar and Turkey have an embassy in every country in the region. Even the United States does not have a resident embassy in Somalia. Senior Turkish officials have been frequent visitors to the region. Turkish Airlines has more destinations to the region than any non-African airline. All these efforts notwithstanding, except for Somalia, Turkish aid is small compared to the major donor countries in North America and Europe. Turkish investment, although growing impressively, is also well behind that of many Western countries and, with the exception of some year-to-year variations, is less than that of China, India and several of the Gulf states.
Primarily because of its support for Somalia, Turkey is playing a growing security role in the region. It continues to be an active participant in the anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden. This engagement and a new Turkish military base in Qatar have resulted in more frequent Turkish navy visits to northeast Africa. On the other hand, its contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations in Sudan’s Darfur region and in South Sudan have been much smaller than contributions from countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and China.
All things considered, however, the magnitude of Turkey’s engagement in the region has been surprising and impressive.
Received on Mon Jun 06 2016 - 14:36:35 EDT