Five things to know about Turkiye’s interests in Africa/node/2553831/middle-east
Five things to know about Turkiye’s interests in Africa
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the NATO 75th anniversary summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, July 11, 2024. (AFP)
Five things to know about Turkiye’s interests in Africa
Turkiye has accumulated considerable soft power in the region, notably through education, the media and its shared religion with Africa’s many Muslim countries
Turkiye has signed defense agreements with a number of states spanning the breadth of the continent, including Somalia, Libya, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ghana
Updated 22 July 2024
AFP
ISTANBUL: Turkiye is pushing for diplomatic and economic influence on the world stage — not least in Africa, where it announced plans this week to search for oil and gas off Somalia.
Over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two decades in power, Ankara has consolidated its foothold on the continent, quadrupling its number of embassies there.
Here are five of Turkiye’s diplomatic and economic interests and strategies in Africa:
At a time when many African countries are turning away from their former colonial rulers, Turkiye has looked to fill the void left behind.
“Erdogan presents himself as an alternative to the West,” said Selin Gucum, author of a study on Turkish interests in Africa for Paris’s Observatory of Contemporary Turkiye.
Gucum told AFP that Ankara often emphasizes the “sincerity” of its presence on the continent compared to that of Europeans, who bear the legacy of colonialism.
And Erdogan can be less squeamish about what partners he chooses, according to a report on Turkiye’s defense accords with African countries by Teresa Nogueira Pinto, an analyst at Geopolitical Intelligence Services.
“Unlike the West, Turkiye does not make this assistance conditional on governance or human rights commitments,” Pinto wrote.
Turkiye has signed defense agreements with a number of states spanning the breadth of the continent, including Somalia, Libya, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ghana.
Those agreements have opened up contracts for Turkiye’s defense manufacturers, notably for its reputedly reliable and inexpensive drones.
Popularly used in the fight against terrorism, Turkish drones have been recently delivered to Chad, Togo, and the junta-led Sahel trio of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Turkiye is also expanding its interests in Africa’s energy sector.
In September or October it plans to launch an oil and gas exploration mission off the coast of Somalia, similar to the one it is carrying out in Libyan waters.
Ankara is also said to be coveting Niger’s abundant uranium deposits which it needs to operate its future Russian-built Akkuyu nuclear power station — although Ankara’s diplomats deny this.
Nonetheless, Erdogan has bolstered ties with Niger’s ruling generals since their 2023 coup d’etat. Niamey received Turkiye’s intelligence chief and foreign, energy and defense ministers on Wednesday.
Ankara is generally seen as a “reliable partner,” said Didier Billion, Turkiye specialist at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs — “particularly in the construction and infrastructure sectors.”
When Turkish companies build big-ticket projects like hospitals, airports, or mosques, “deadlines and budgets are met, he added.
That reputation means more demand: in 2023, Turkish contractors were involved in $85.5 billion worth of projects, according to the trade ministry.
Turkish Airlines also crisscrosses the continent, flying to 62 destinations in Africa.
In 2012, it became the first airline to return to Mogadishu, whose airport was rebuilt with Turkish funding and assistance.
Turkiye has accumulated considerable soft power in the region, notably through education, the media and its shared religion with Africa’s many Muslim countries.
The religious Turkish Maarif Foundation has expanded to a network of 140 schools and institutions catering for 17,000 pupils, while 60,000 Africans are students in Turkiye.
Ankara’s powerful Directorate of Religious Affairs has stepped up its humanitarian activities and support for mosques and religious education across the region.
Billing itself as the first Turkish television channel on the continent, NRT boasts on its website that it serves 49 African countries, spreading the Turkish language.
Public broadcaster TRT also has programs in French, English, Swahili and Hausa and is developing training courses for future journalists.
Turkiye’s religious conservatism likewise resonates with many African countries, at a time when anti-LGBTQ laws are being adopted on the continent.
“When Erdogan denounces ‘LGBTQ people who undermine family values’, for many Africans, that’s music to their ears,” Billion said.
Syrian reboots interior ministry as Damascus seeks to reassure West
The restructure includes “strengthening the role of the anti-drug department and further developing its importance within Syria
Updated 9 sec ago
AFP
DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities on Saturday announced an interior ministry restructuring that includes fighting cross-border drug and people smuggling as they seek to improve ties with Western nations that have lifted sanctions.
Keen to reboot and rebuild nearly 14 years after a devastating civil war broke out, the new authorities in Damascus have hailed Washington’s lifting of US sanctions.
The move was formalized Friday after being announced by President Donald Trump on a Gulf tour this month during which he shook hands with Syria’s jihadist-turned-interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba said the interior ministry restructure included reforms and creating “a modern civil security institution that adopts transparency and respects international human rights standards.”
It includes setting up a citizens’ complaints department and incorporating the police and General Security agency into an Internal Security command, he told a press conference.
A border security body for Syria’s land and sea frontiers will be tasked with “combating illegal activities, particularly drug and human smuggling networks,” Baba said.
The restructure includes “strengthening the role of the anti-drug department and further developing its importance within Syria and abroad” after the country became a major exporter of illicit stimulant captagon, he added.
Another department will handle security for government facilities and foreign missions, as embassies reopen in Syria following Bashar Assad’s ouster in December.
A tourism police body will secure visitors and sites as the war-torn country — home to renowned UNESCO World Heritage sites — seeks to relaunch tourism.
Syria’s foreign ministry welcomed Washington’s lifting of sanctions, calling the move “a positive step in the right direction to reduce humanitarian and economic struggles in the country.”
Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said the recent US and European Union steps to lift sanctions were “of critical importance in efforts to bring stability and security to Syria.”
The European Union announced the lifting of its economic sanctions on Syria earlier this month.
Sharaa met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday on his third visit to Turkiye since taking power on a visit to discuss “common issues,” Syria’s presidency said.
Ankara is a major backer of Syria’s new authorities, who are negotiating with Kurdish forces that control swathes of the northeast and that Turkiye considers “terrorists.”
A government delegation made a first visit Saturday to the notorious Al-Hol camp in the northeast that hosts families of suspected Islamic State (IS) group jihadists.
Trump said he wanted to give Syria’s new rulers “a chance at greatness” after their overthrow of Assad.
While in Istanbul, Sharaa met with the US ambassador to Turkiye, who doubles as Washington’s Syria envoy.
In a statement, Tom Barrack said: “President Trump’s goal is to enable the new government to create the conditions for the Syrian people to not only survive but thrive.”
He added that it would aid Washington’s “primary objective” of ensuring the “enduring defeat” of IS.
US sanctions were first imposed on Syria in 1979 under the rule of Bashar Assad’s father Hafez.
They were sharply expanded after the bloody repression of anti-government protests in 2011 triggered Syria’s civil war.
The new administration has been looking to build relations with the West and roll back sanctions, but some governments expressed reluctance, pointing to the Islamist past of leading figures.
The sanctions relief extends to the new government on condition that Syria not provide safe haven for terrorist organizations and ensure security for religious and ethnic minorities, the US Treasury Department said.
Concurrently, the US State Department issued a 180-day waiver for the Caesar Act to make sure that sanctions do not obstruct foreign investment in Syria.
The 2020 legislation severely sanctioned any entity or company cooperating with the now ousted government.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the waiver would “facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria.”
However, Rubio cautioned that Trump “has made clear his expectation that relief will be followed by prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities.”
He said lifting the sanctions aims to promote “recovery and reconstruction efforts.”
Syria’s 14-year civil war killed more than half a million people and ravaged its infrastructure.
The interior ministry’s spokesman said around a third of the population had been under suspicion by the Assad government’s feared intelligence and security services.
Analysts say a full lifting of sanctions may take time, as some US restrictions are acts that need to be reversed by Congress.
Syrian authorities also need to ensure an attractive environment for foreign investment.
Libya says oil leak occurs in pipeline south of Zawiya city
The NOC posted a picture showing a stream of leaked oil in the desert
Updated 15 min 49 sec ago
Reuters
An oil leak forced the shutdown of a pipeline south of Libya's city of Zawiya, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Saturday.
Zawiya, 40 km (25 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, is home to Libya's biggest functioning refinery, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. The refinery is connected to the country's 300,000-barrels-per-day Sharara oilfield.
The NOC posted a picture showing a stream of leaked oil in the desert. Flow from the Hamada oilfields through the affected pipeline was immediately halted, the company said in a statement.
"In parallel with the maintenance work, a team of specialists is conducting an investigation to determine the causes of the leak. Arrangements and coordination are also underway to recover the leaked oil and address any resulting environmental pollution," the company added.
Lebanon army says receives suspect in Christian party official’s killing
Pascal Sleiman of the Lebanese Forces Christian party was abducted and killed in April 2024
The army had said he was killed in a carjacking by Syrian gang members
Updated 24 May 2025
AFP
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army said Saturday it had taken into custody a suspect in last year’s killing of a Christian political official, with help from Syria’s new authorities, in a case that sparked public outrage.
Pascal Sleiman, a coordinator in the Byblos (Jbeil) area north of Beirut for the Lebanese Forces (LF) Christian party, was abducted and killed in April 2024.
The army had said he was killed in a carjacking by Syrian gang members who then took his body across the border.
The army received “one of the main individuals involved in the crime of kidnapping and killing” Sleiman after coordinating with Syrian authorities, a military statement said.
The suspect “heads a gang involved in kidnapping, robbery and forgery and has a large number of arrest warrants against him,” the statement said, adding that investigations were underway.
Sleiman’s LF party opposed Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar Assad, who was ousted in December, as well as its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, which last year was engaged in cross-border fire with Israel that escalated into all-out war.
Beirut and Damascus have been seeking to improve ties since the overthrow of Assad, whose family dynasty for decades exercised control over Lebanese affairs.
Anti-Syrian sentiment soared after Sleiman’s disappearance and death, in a country hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.
Some accused Hezbollah of having a hand in the killing, but then chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was later killed in a massive Israeli air strike, denied his party was involved.
The LF had said it would consider Sleiman’s death a “political assassination until proven otherwise.”
Will sanctions relief unlock Syria’s potential, spur economic recovery?
With US and EU restrictions easing and the diaspora mobilizing, Syria’s entrepreneurs are cautiously eyeing a path to renewal
The future may depend less on oil, and more on whether people believe it is safe to come home — and stay, analysts say
Updated 24 May 2025
ANAN TELLO
LONDON: In a dramatic shift in US foreign policy, President Donald Trump recently pledged to lift sanctions on Syria — a move that has sparked cautious optimism among Syrian entrepreneurs eyeing a long-awaited path to economic recovery after years of war and isolation.
The announcement was quickly followed by a high-profile meeting in Riyadh on May 14 between Trump and Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, ahead of a broader summit of Gulf leaders during Trump’s regional tour, signaling a renewed emphasis on diplomatic engagement with Damascus.
Hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the meeting marked the most significant international overture to Syria since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in December.
It also marked the first meeting between a sitting US president and a Syrian head of state in more than 20 years.
Sanctions imposed on the Assad regime and inherited by Al-Sharaa’s government targeted key sectors such as banking, transport and energy. (AFP)
Further cementing this policy change, the US on Saturday issued a six-month waiver of key Caesar Act sanctions, authorizing transactions with Syria’s interim government, central bank, and state firms. The move also clears the way for investment in energy, water, and infrastructure to support humanitarian aid and reconstruction.
In a further boost, the EU announced on May 20 that it would follow the US lead and lift its own remaining sanctions on Syria. “We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria,” EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, posted on X.
Analysts believe that these developments suggest a thaw in relations, opening the door to future cooperation, particularly in rebuilding Syria’s war-ravaged economy.
“Lifting sanctions is a necessary and critical measure,” Syrian economic adviser Humam Aljazaeri told Arab News, highlighting that a key sector poised to benefit is energy, particularly electricity generation.
Syria’s energy infrastructure has been decimated by more than a decade of civil war and sanctions.
Before the conflict erupted in 2011, Syria produced about 400,000 barrels of oil a day, nearly half of which was exported, according to the Alma Research and Education Center.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, center, hosted a meeting between Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, right, and US President Donald Trump in Riyadh. (SPA)
Since then, oil and gas output has plunged by more than 80 percent, as fields, refineries and pipelines were destroyed or seized by warring factions, according to World Bank data.
Power generation dropped 56 percent between 2011 and 2015, the local newspaper Al-Watan reported at the time. Today, daily blackouts — sometimes lasting 20 hours — are a grim feature of life across Syria.
Beyond energy, Aljazaeri highlighted the humanitarian sector as another area in urgent need of relief. If sanctions are lifted, Syria “would enjoy a frictionless flow of programs through various UN and other international agencies,” he said.
That relief cannot come soon enough. The UN estimates that 16.7 million Syrians — roughly three-quarters of the population — will require humanitarian aid in 2025. Syria is now the world’s fourth most food-insecure country, with 14.5 million people in need of nutritional support.
Despite the scale of need, international funding remains woefully short. As of late February, only 10 percent of the $1.2 billion required for early 2025 humanitarian operations had been secured, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Even when funds are available, getting aid to those in need is an ongoing logistical challenge. Continued conflict, insecurity and decimated infrastructure — especially in the hard-hit northern and northeastern regions — make delivery slow and difficult.
Conditions are worsening. Severe drought this year threatens to wipe out up to 75 percent of Syria’s wheat crop, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, placing millions at even greater risk of hunger.
Syria is now the world’s fourth most food-insecure country, with 14.5 million people in need of nutritional support. (AFP)
The crisis is further compounded by the return of about 1.2 million displaced Syrians between December and early 2025. Many have returned to towns and villages in ruins, overwhelming humanitarian services.
While sectors such as transport and trade could see quick wins if sanctions are eased, Aljazaeri cautioned that a full recovery would require time and clearer international policy direction.
“Sectors like infrastructure, health, education and general business are not expected to move quickly in the interim period,” he said. “These areas need a clearer international policy on sanctions and a more stable investment climate.”
Lifting sanctions is a necessary and critical measure
Humam Aljazaeri, Syrian economic adviser
For now, Aljazaeri said, the US is expected to offer only limited relief — temporary exemptions and executive licenses for 180 days — before reassessing its stance, potentially through a broader congressional review.
“This piecemeal approach won’t provide enough assurance for serious investors,” he said. “Against this backdrop, it is important to see how the government will act in the coming weeks and months to justify further international integration and a more sustainable lifting of sanctions.”
Rebuilding Syria could cost between $400 billion and $600 billion, according to Lebanese economist Nasser Saidi.
Syria’s energy infrastructure has been decimated by more than a decade of civil war and sanctions. (AFP)
Syria’s natural resources and its regional pipeline network could attract investors, he wrote in an essay for Arabian Gulf Business Insight magazine.
However, he emphasized that tapping this potential would require dismantling the country’s “corrupt, politically controlled, state-owned enterprises and government-related entities,” and reviving a vibrant private sector.
Some positive steps, however small, are already underway. The Karam Shaar Advisory, a New Zealand-based consulting firm, noted that 97 new limited liability companies were registered in Syria between Assad’s fall in December and March 26.
While the firm called it “a modest rise in formal company formation,” it said that economic stagnation persists.
Meanwhile, efforts to rebuild shattered infrastructure are gaining traction, particularly with the Syrian diaspora poised to play a role.
INNUMBERS
• 84% Syria’s GDP contraction between 2010 and 2023.
• $400–$600bn Syria’s projected reconstruction and redevelopment needs.
(Sources: World Bank & Nasser Saidi & Associates)
“Conversations are underway about involving all stakeholders to create enabling frameworks,” Mohamed Ghazal, managing director of Startup Syria, a community-led initiative supporting Syrian entrepreneurs, told Arab News.
Government buy-in will be essential. “Think tanks and task forces are working on this, but strong cooperation from the Syrian government is crucial — and there are promising signs in this direction,” Ghazal said.
He highlighted the diaspora’s potential to drive investment, skills transfer and community development. “There is a growing recognition that the Syrian diaspora can significantly contribute to ecosystem-building,” he said.
Still, many in the diaspora remain cautious. Ghazal said that the tipping point for engagement included sustainable peace, rule of law, property rights, improved governance, reduced corruption, investment incentives, infrastructure reconstruction and a coordinated international approach.
Aljazaeri echoed those concerns, noting that lifting sanctions alone would not stabilize Syria or improve living conditions. “Issues related to law and order, reconciliation and good policies are detrimental,” he said.
“In our view, it is not inflation, corruption, or cronyism that would pose a challenge at this stage, rather ‘right economics’ or the lack of it. The Syrian administration needs to demonstrate competency in running the economy and applying the necessary reforms.
“It has the power, maybe also the will, but must have the capabilities to do the right thing,” he said, stressing that “to do that, it needs to engage more and widen the pool of dialogue and trust.”
Despite the optimism, the path ahead remains fraught with dangers. (AFP)
However, the path ahead remains fraught with dangers. Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, warned on Wednesday of “the real dangers of renewed conflict and deeper fragmentation” in the war-torn country.
Since Assad’s fall, Syria has seen new waves of violence, particularly along the coast, where his Alawite sect is concentrated. Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the Islamist group that led the offensive that toppled Assad, now controls much of the area, which has been wracked by sectarian violence.
Reports of mass executions, looting and arson have heightened fears of renewed sectarian conflict. Al-Sharaa’s government is reportedly struggling to assert control, facing clashes with Druze in the south and standoffs with Kurds in the northeast.
“The Al-Sharaa government has two options in Syria; bring the minorities into government in a meaningful way so they feel invested in the future of the country and believe that they can protect themselves from within the state, or to suppress the minorities and force their compliance,” Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, told Arab News.
FASTFACTS
• By 2023, the Syrian pound had collapsed 300-fold from SYP47 per dollar in 2011 to over SYP14,000.
• Hack for Syria, a hybrid event held Feb. 22–28, drew 5,500 participants from Syria and abroad.
“So far, Al-Sharaa has been using both methods. With the Alawites, he has favored the second method — force. With the Druze and Kurds, he has offered deals.”
Despite the instability, experts argue the interim government and international partners can still take steps to foster investment and recovery.
“Temporarily unlocking frozen financial assets could provide a lifeline,” Aljazaeri said. “How those resources are used will define the government’s direction.”
Ghazal said that capital is urgently needed to fuel entrepreneurship. “Transparent financial channels, encouragement of diaspora investment and attraction of impact investors could bring necessary seed and growth capital,” he said.
Today, I met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani in Istanbul to implement President Trump’s bold decision to provide a path for peace and prosperity in Syria. President al-Sharaa praised America’s fast action on lifting sanctions,… pic.twitter.com/m63iiZTGLL
— Ambassador Tom Barrack (@USAMBTurkiye) May 24, 2025
He noted Syria’s growing startup scene, with more than 200 active ventures. Events such as the “Hack for Syria” hackathon, held from Feb. 22–28, showcased the country’s talent and drive to solve local problems.
“However, these entrepreneurs need support to scale and access global opportunities,” he said.
Sanctions imposed on the Assad regime and inherited by Al-Sharaa’s government targeted key sectors such as banking, transport and energy.
Syria’s gross domestic product plunged from $67.5 billion in 2011 to about $21 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank.
The diaspora has a potential to drive investment, skills transfer and community development. (AFP)
The sanctions cut Syria off from the global financial system, froze government assets and strangled trade — especially in oil — crippling state revenues and economic activity.
This contributed to widespread poverty, with more than 90 percent of Syrians forced below the poverty line.
As Syria emerges from more than a decade of turmoil, the lifting of US and EU sanctions offers a rare economic lifeline — and the possibility of a new chapter in its complex relationship with the West.
‘Many more’ Conservative MPs back UK govt stance on Israel: MP
Mark Pritchard: PM ‘on right side of history’ after joint statement condemning Gaza war
Britain must recognize Palestinian state in ‘huge symbol of support’
Updated 24 May 2025
Arab News
LONDON: “Many more” Conservative MPs in the UK privately support calls by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and British allies for Israel to end its Gaza war, a Conservative MP has said.
Mark Pritchard told LBC that Starmer is on the “right side of history” and “humanity,” The Independent reported on Saturday.
However, Pritchard refused to criticize Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who questioned new British sanctions on Israeli settlers and a joint UK-France-Canada statement on Gaza this week.
The leaders of the three countries condemned “egregious” Israeli actions in Gaza and threatened to take “concrete actions” if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails to change course.
In response, Netanyahu accused the UK, France and Canada of being on the “wrong side of justice.”
Pritchard, who describes himself as strongly pro-Israel, told LBC: “Half the population of Gaza are children. They are being literally bombed to bits every single day. They are being slowly starved.
“It’s absolutely right the UK prime minister, who so happens to be a Labour prime minister right now, would stand up on the right side.
“I push it back to the Israeli prime minister. I think Keir Starmer and those standing up for the children of Gaza are on the right side of history, the right side of humanity and are making the right moral judgment.”
Pritchard said he now believes in the necessity of Britain recognizing a Palestinian state. “It may be symbolic, but I think it will be a huge symbol of support both for the Israelis that want to see that and also for the Palestinians. But the key point at the moment is the Israeli government need to be held to account,” he added.
“I support the UK prime minister and many more, by the way, in the British Conservative Party, are coming up to me privately at the moment.”
On Friday, Badenoch said the government’s new actions targeting Israeli settlers and trade relations with the country are not the “right way” to resolve differences with Netanyahu.
Pritchard told LBC: “I’m coming on to support Kemi on the comments on antisemitism and supporting the prime minister on his strong stand, finally, on what’s going on in Gaza.”
