Transportation a must to improve ties with Africa

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım defines Africa as the ‘continent with a future.’

Africa is a “continent with a future,” Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said at the gala dinner of the Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum, noting that the continent of 54 countries and nearly 1.1 billion population was growing at 5.6 percent ever year on average with a $2.2 trillion gross product. 

Turkey’s relationship with Africa is very different than that of the Western World, the prime minister said. 

“Our trade with Africa increased significantly in recent years. The total stood at $6 billion to $7 billion some 10 years ago, but now this figure has neared $18 billion,” he said. 

“Still, this does not reflect the real potential. The real economic potential of economic potential and investment opportunities between Turkey and Africa is way above this,” the prime minister said. Transportation is an important industry to increase the relations, he said.