ASSESSING TURKEY-AFRICA ENGAGEMENTS

In defence and military relations, Turkey, benefiting from its non-colonial past on the continent, has started to increase its activities in the field 8 ASSESSING TURKEY-AFRICA ENGAGEMENTS of security, ranging from its involvement in the state-building process of Somalia to its military presence on the continent with the establishment of its first military base in Somalia in 2017. [...] One of the largest Turkish companies, Summa, won several important contracts in the building sector in Africa, including the rebuild and running of Guinea Bissau’s new international airport in March 2022, the construction of the Senegalese national stadium completed in February 2022 as well as the construction of airports in Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone. [...] This activism ranges from its involvement in the state-building process of Somalia to its military presence in the continent with the establishment of its first military base in Somalia in 2017 (TURKSOM) and more recently to the intensification of its arms sales to Africa and its drone diplomacy. [...] At the same time, however, the increase in the value of arms sales to Africa, although contributing to advancing Turkey’s actorship on the international stage and to its economy, might tarnish Turkey’s image in Africa in the longer term. [...] The end-result of these events was the de-facto division of the two communities on the island between the northern Turkish Cypriots and the southern Greek Cypriots, which contributed to halting the violence.