Türkiye-Africa Relations in the context of Summit Diplomacy in the 21st Century

Abstract

In the 21st century, the African continent has once again become a field of competition for global or regional actors. At the same time, the search for cooperation and partnership by many actors to improve relations with the continent has directed attention to Africa in recent years. In this context, summit diplomacy has become an important tool used by actors to improve their relations with Africa. After the African summits, it was aimed to accelerate the relations between the summit parties by taking many steps in the economic, political, diplomatic, military, and socio-cultural fields. The action plans put forward after the summits provided a road map and monitoring mechanism for the course of relations. The summits, which provide an institutional basis for relations with Africa, have been implemented by actors such as China, the European Union, the United States, Russia and India, as well as regional and mid-level powers such as Turkey. Turkey's relations with Africa have come a long way in the 21st century, with Türkiye announcing the Opening to Africa Action Plan in 1998 and the subsequent creation of suitable conditions. Türkiye acts with the desire and determination to develop its relations with the African continent at bilateral, regional, continental and international levels. In this context, it can be seen that three Türkiye-Africa cooperation and partnership summits have been organized to date. Summit diplomacy has played an important role in the development of relations in many different fields, from trade to health, from education to infrastructure, from culture to technology and from energy to defense. Türkiye, which adapts soft power elements to its policies on the continent with concepts such as win-win strategy and strategic partnership, continues its activities on the continent in cooperation with many actors from high-level officials to non-governmental organizations. This study aims to discuss Türkiye-Africa relations within the context of summits in the 21st century and to reveal the role of summits in the development of Türkiye's relations with Africa, which is included in the global competitive environment with other actors carrying out summit diplomacy activities for the continent.