Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in South Africa
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday arrived in Johannesburg to attend the BRICS summit.
Erdoğan, who arrived at 9.55 p.m. local time (1955 GMT), was welcomed by South African Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies and Turkey's Ambassador to South Africa Elif Comoglu Ulgen at the OR Tambo International Airport.
The BRICS regional bloc is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, countries that share over 20 percent of the global economy and contribute around 17 percent to international trade.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be visiting the Republic of Zambia on Saturday on the invitation of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu.According to a statement from Zambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, Erdoğan will arrive in Zambia on July 28.The upcoming visit is expected to further strengthen the existing relations and cooperation between Zambia and Turkey in numerous sectors.Turkish envoy hails strong relations with South Africa“Turkey has one of the largest and fastest growing economies which has made major strides in its socio-economic development agenda."Turkey is also a leading member of the EU Customs Union and the G-20. In addition, Turkey has continued to contribute significantly to various United Nations programs as well as several international and regional organizations," the statement read.The visit will mark the first Turkish presidential visit to Zambia.Erdoğan: Iran is both our neighbour and strategic partnerErdoğan and his Zambian counterpart Lungu will discuss mutual and multilateral matters such as Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Reform of the UN Security Council.The ministry has also stated the two leaders will discuss peace and security in the region particularly and the Continent in general."Turkey has an active role in promoting regional stability through its membership to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and Zambia’s membership to the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) and also the country’s impending assumption of the Chair to the SADC Organ Troika on Politics, Defense and Security in August 2018," it said.
Turkish president to visit Zambia on July 28
The Turkish president is accompanied by his wife Emine Erdoğan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Treasury anf Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, and two lawmakers from Justice and Development (AK) Party and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
The 10th summit started on Wednesday and will end on Friday.
Erdoğan’s attendance at the summit will serve as the first high-level contact between Turkey and the BRICS bloc.
Turkey's ambassador to South Africa praised brotherly relations between the two countries, ahead of BRICS summit which will be attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan."Turkey and South Africa go back a long way ," Elif Çomoğlu Ülgen said, in an exclusive interview to Anadolu Agency.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa invited Erdoğan at the summit as the term president of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).BRICS is a grouping of five countries including, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.Turkey can boost regional bloc BRICS's profile: Envoy"By joining the summit our president will convey our views to other leaders and will have the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with leaders of BRICS member countries," she said.Ülgen recalled that the two countries opened embassies in their capitals in 1993 and 1994 through a mutual agreement."Our bilateral trade volume is $2.5 billion. We buy minerals from South Africa. But there is a lot of untapped business potential. More needs to be done by South Africa."Ülgen pointed out that the internal dynamics of South Africa are well known and so patience and care should be exercised when trading in the country."Turkey invested in two companies in South Africa; appliance manufacturers and distributors Defy and Capetown Iron and Steel Works Company (Cisco)."For better representation in South Africa, Turkey opened institutions such as TIKA, Yunus Emre Institute, Maarif foundation."'South Africa similar to Anatolia'Ülgen said that South Africa's relations with Turkey go way back to Ottoman era.Renowned Ottoman scholar Abu Bakr Effendi was sent to Cape of Good Hope in 1862 during the reign of Sultan Abdulaziz.His traditions are still being followed by Muslims in South Africa.She said South Africa resembles Turkey's Anatolian region in many ways."South Africa is similar to Anatolia. It has fertile soil like Anatolia and its climate is very beautiful. At the same time in terms of human history, it is a geography that has witnessed great pain,” she said.Ülgen said South Africans perceive Turkey positively."South Africans take great pleasure in spending their holidays in Turkey,” she said, adding that there is also a great interest in Turkish textile and cuisine.
Turkish envoy hails strong relations with South Africa
On the sidelines of the summit, Erdoğan will also hold bilateral talks with the leaders of all BRICS member states and other invited leaders.
He will also meet Turkish community in South Africa, as well as prominent businesspeople and opinion leaders of Muslim community.
Turkish president will also open the new building of Turkish Embassy.