Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits

Year 2024, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 64 - 90

Ali Balcı

Abstract

Since 1998, when Türkiye inaugurated its ‘Opening up to Africa Policy,’ there has been a concerted effort to cultivate political, economic, and cultural ties with African states. This growing engagement has prompted extensive scholarly inquiry into its underlying motivations and outcomes. Scholars utilized diverse analytical tools to propose and evaluate potential determinants. This paper posits that the frequency of high-level leadership visits serves as a barometer for the intensity of Türkiye’s bilateral relations and seeks to unravel the rationale behind the preferential focus on certain African countries. The study empirically tests the determinants identified in the existing literature by leveraging data on Türkiye’s high-level visits to the continent. The findings show that Turkish leaders’ visits to African countries are predominantly influenced by economic interests and historical ties, with a clear preference for nations offering larger markets and shared historical connections, while humanitarian considerations appear to play a minimal role.

Keywords

Turkish Foreign Policy, Africa, High-level Visit

Supporting Institution

TÜBİTAK

Project Number

123K254

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