Dunya – The Turkish Foreign Ministry has announced that it will open 14 new embassies in Africa, nearly doubling its diplomatic presence on the continent.

As part of past diplomatic efforts, Ankara declared 2005 as the “Year of Africa” and held a “Turkey-African Countries Summit” last year with the participation of nearly 50 leaders from African countries. Relations between Turkey and the African nations have accelerated with Turkey's non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council.

The new embassies will open in Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Uganda and Zambia, and there will also be a consulate general in Sudan. Turkey currently has embassies in 13 African nations.

(invest.gov.tr)