Turkey offers to share mediation experience with Africa

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - Turkey on Friday offered to share with Africa its experience of mediation to help prop up peace and reconciliation in the continent.

Africa has been troubled by numerous conflict situations in Somalia, Central African Republic, the Sahel region, Libya and other states.

Turkish Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union Fatih Ulusoy made the offer on Friday at an international conference on Peace and Reconciliation organized by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.

The conference brought together ambassadors accredited to the African Union, researchers as well as legal experts.

"Turkey fully subscribes to the plan to silence guns in Africa by 2020 as enshrined in the continent's development road map -- Agenda 2063."

Together with Finland, Turkey co-chaired a group of Friends of Mediation at the United Nations, Ulusoy said. "Turkey will continue to pioneer mediation efforts at the UN."

Turkey has mediated a number of conflicts in Africa and the Middle East in addition to co-leading the Friends of Mediation Initiative launched under the UN framework.

Recently, the country held mediatory talks with Middle East leaders after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar over allegations the country supports terrorism. Qatar has denied all the allegations.

Turkey, the ambassador indicated, organized four international conferences on mediation including one in June this year, coinciding with the AU Summit of heads of state and government.

He also expressed condolences to the people of Somalia over "brutal terrorist attacks" on Oct. 14 that killed more than 300 people.