Türkiye vows stronger military cooperation with African countries

Türkiye has vowed to continue its defence partnership with African countries, including training and technical support, towards tackling terrorism and enhancing security on the continent.

Türkiye’s Minister of National Defence, Yaşar Güler, stated this during a parley with representatives of media organisations in Ankara over the weekend as part of the annual evaluation of his ministry’s activities.

"Regarding Africa, strengthening our defence cooperation with African nations – with whom we share deep-rooted historical and cultural ties – and thereby contributing to the security and stability of the continent remains among our primary priorities," Güler said.

"In line with received requests, we continue to provide training, financial, logistical, and technical support to the Armed Forces of African nations, contributing to their capacity-building efforts. Within the scope of our military training cooperation, we provide Turkish language education in 12 countries (Somalia, Libya, Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Djibouti, Nigeria, Niger, Gabon, and Guinea) through our Ministry, the Turkish Maarif Foundation, and the Yunus Emre Institute."

‘Unified Libya’

On Türkiye’s efforts towards ensuring a unified Libya, the minister stressed the shared "deep-rooted historical ties" between the two countries, describing Libya as "our Mediterranean neighbour", and assuring of Ankara’s commitment to peace.

"Our military training, assistance, cooperation, and consultancy activities in Libya continue toward our goal of a unified Libya that has ensured its territorial integrity and political unity, living in peace, tranquillity, and stability," Yaşar Güler added.

"Our maritime cooperation, the foundation of which was laid with the Memorandum of Understanding on the Delimitation of Maritime Jurisdiction Areas signed in 2019, has expanded to include areas such as energy security and the fight against irregular migration," he explained.

"Progress is being made toward our 'One Libya' goal, as a result of our efforts and the dialogue we maintain with all parties within the framework of a principled policy. In this context, our support for the United Nations-led political process continues with determination."

Somalia is another key partner of Türkiye in Africa, where Yaşar Güler emphasised that Ankara’s contributions in various fields continue to grow.

‘Mutual respect and trust’

"Our training, consultancy, and support activities aimed at ensuring security and stability in the friendly nation of Somalia continue to increase. Furthermore, we have recently established the Air Task Command in Somalia, consisting of utility and attack helicopters," he said.

The minister also highlighted the growing maritime cooperation between Türkiye and Senegal.

"Our maritime patrol aircraft located in Senegal commenced its mission in October to provide search and rescue and maritime surveillance training and support to the Senegalese Armed Forces. Similarly, our support for personnel training provided to the armies of Mali and Niger remains ongoing," Güler said.

"I would like to emphasise that we attach great importance to the peace and stability of Africa, and we are developing our relations with our African friends on a daily basis, based on respect and trust," he added.