Turkey donates Turkovac, Sinovac vaccines to Congo

KINSHASA/YAOUNDE

Turkey will send one million doses of the Sinovac and 100,000 doses of Turcovac vaccines to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Feb. 20.

“I brought 100,000 doses of vaccines with me,” Erdoğan said, speaking at a joint press conference with his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, in the capital Kinshasa where he arrived as the first stop of his four-day Africa trip.

“Our Health Ministry will send one million doses of Sinovac and 100,000 doses of Turkovac vaccine,” he added.

Emphasizing that he had met with his counterpart, Tshisekedi, for the third time in the last six months, Erdoğan said, “I believe that my visit will further increase the momentum in our bilateral relations.”

With the declaration, action plan and joint implementation report we accepted at the Turkey-Africa partnership summit, they determined a roadmap for Turkey’s relations with Africa for the period 2022-2026, he said.

“We will continue to develop our relations with African countries based on sincerity, brotherhood and solidarity within this framework,” he said.

The two presidents signed seven agreements on security, the economy and industry.

Erdoğan said Turkey will continue to support the DRC’S development efforts and noted Turkey’s development aid agency TİKA is conducting various projects, including vocational training, healthcare, support for administrative and social infrastructure, and school renewal.

The president said the two countries have nearly doubled their bilateral trade volume, which was $36.5 million in 2018 before the pandemic. “We are advancing towards our trade goal of $250 million,” he stated.

He thanked Tshisekedi and the authorities of the DRC for their support in the fight against FETÖ.

Erdoğan offered his condolences to the citizens of the DRC who lost their lives in a terrorist attack that took place in Ituri on Feb. 1.

Tshisekedi, for his part, said the Turkish president’s visit to his country had tremendous meaning for the future of the DRC.

The priority area of bilateral cooperation is on security, increasing the capacity in the fight against terrorist groups as well as armed groups, he said.

Erdoğan’s Africa trip also includes Senegal and Guinea-Bissau.

During his visit to the Senegalese capital Dakar on Feb. 21, Erdoğan was scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the Dakar Olympic Stadium built by a Turkish company. He was also expected to inaugurate Turkey’s new embassy building.