The remnants of the Ottoman empire in Africa

Interesting blog by Beyond the Horizon about the remnants of the Ottoman empire in Africa. Turkey has had a military base in Somalia since 2017, and continues to extend its hold in Africa in the field of defense, by promoting its military equipment to African countries. It is establishing a military installation in Sudan.

For the past two decades, in search of new spaces of influence, Ankara has invested heavily in Africa, economically, diplomatically, and religiously. Turkey’s African policy is the preserve of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has made 38 trips to 28 African countries so far. While the Turkish state had only twelve embassies in 2002 across Africa, the country now has a total of 43 diplomatic missions on the continent. Conversely, Ankara now hosts 37 embassies of African countries.

More generally, Ankara encounters difficulties in launching policies on the scale of the whole continent and must favor the African countries with which it has historical ties. The Turkish government is thus trying to strengthen its relationship with the countries of North Africa, by correcting the sometimes unfavorable memory left by the Ottoman Empire.

MORE >> Full blog: Les enjeux du troisième sommet Turquie-Afrique d’Istanbul (17-18 décembre 2021)