Turkish Airlines to fly to Botswana in future
Inher wish list to increase trade and investment relations and the presence of Turkish business community in Botswana, Ambassador Meltem Buyukkarakas would like to see Turkish Airlines flying to Botswana.
“I am sure establishing a direct air link between our countries will facilitate more travels, more business and more interaction between our peoples,” she told Business Guardian in an interview this week Monday at her offices in Gaborone.
She believes that mutual visits at the highest level add further momentum to bilateral cooperation and give a strong impetus to business links hence she hopes they can plan such visits in the forthcoming period. “In this respect, we highly appreciate President Dr. Mokgweetsi Masisi’s economic diplomacy approach,” she said.
Buyukkarakas, who is first Turkish Ambassador accredited to Southern African Development Community ( SADC), said although they currently do not have any joint development project with SADC, their desire is to establish an economic cooperation format similar to the ones that Turkey has with the regional economic groupings of ECOWAS and COMESA.
Buyukkarakas indicated that Turkish private sector is leading their partnership policy with Africa. In 2003 trade volume between Turkey and Africa was 5.4 billion USD but increased to 26.2 billion USD in 2019. They have now set a goal of increasing bilateral trade between Turkey and Africa to over 50 billion USD in the next few years. Turkish direct investments in Africa have surpassed 6 billion USD.
Turkish contractors have undertaken more than 1000 infrastructure projects with a total value of approximately 70 billion USD across the continent, said the Turkish envoy. These contractors are building highways, railways, bridges, airports, conference centers, and others as well as contributing to the local economies by transferring know- how and helping to create jobs.
Buyukkarakas stressed that Turkey’s economic relations with Africa is not based on competition, but rather on cooperation and a shared prosperity. Recently, Turkey- Africa Economy and Business Forum was organised as an online event. Fifteen ( 15) Ministers of Trade and Investment as well as high- level government officials and representatives of private sector from several countries participated in the Forum. They discussed post- pandemic economic relations between Turkey and Africa. Until the next Forum, Buyukkarakas said they would be working on an investment portal and e- trade platform between Turkey and African countries. Asked if the African Continent Free Trade Area promises to be the game changer for Africa’s economic development, the Turkish envoy said the AfCFTA will create the largest free trade area in the world in terms of geographical area and the number of countries involved. It will connect almost 1.3 billion people and create huge opportunities for employment, economic diversification, reducing poverty in Africa and attract more foreign direct investments to the continent. “Therefore, it will definitely be a game changer for the economic development of the continent. Especially during the pandemic, we better understand the significance of local production and uninterrupted flow of goods,” she said. Buyukkarakas observed that the difficulties faced during the course of the pandemic highlighted the importance of easing supply chains and increasing trade within the continent and also diversification of supply sources. She said that as a strategic partner of Africa, Turkey welcomes and supports this integration project and expressed hope that with increasing awareness and determined efforts of the countries this process will be fully effective soon.
“From Turkey’s perspective, when the AfCFTA comes into effect, the whole continent will become more attractive for Turkish investors. They will have the opportunity to export their products that they produce in the continent to a huge market without tariffs. This will also make them more competitive. AfCFTA will also create more business opportunities for Turkish contractors,” she said.