Turkish deputy PM hails Turkey-Congo relations

By Ali Kemal Akan

BRAZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AA) - Visiting Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus on Wednesday praised Turkey-Congo relations and announced that the two countries would be holding joint economic cooperation talks in the near future.

''During the joint economic cooperation meeting that we plan to organize in the forthcoming period, we will be able to work on what can be done with our Congolese counterparts in various sectors," Kurtulmus told reporters after a meeting with Congolese President Denis Sassou Ngesso in capital Brazaville.

The meeting will provide the opportunity to work on ways to develop commercial ties, Kurtulmus said.

The Turkish minister added that the meeting with the Congolese president focused on economic, political, commercial and cultural relations between Turkey and the Republic of Congo, in addition to some regional issues.

In order to move this relationship further, both sides are focusing on the importance of fulfilling their respective responsibilities, he added.

"I see that both sides are sincere in their efforts to develop commercial ties so that they live up their potential," he said.

Earlier in the day, Kurtulmus had a meeting with Congolese Prime Minister Clement Mouamba, after which he told reporters that Africa was a continent that could best recreate its own opportunities at this time.

"It is a continent with all kinds of possibilities," Kurtulmus said, noting, however, colonialism and neo-colonialism had prevented the African people from benefitting adequately from their own resources.

"I hope that the African people will rise again, and make full use of their economic and political independence," he said, adding a strong African continent would become one of the best partners of peace-loving countries like Turkey.

On Tuesday, Kurtulmus attended the grand opening of the Kintele International Conference Center, funded by Turkey’s Eximbank, in Brazzaville.

In 2005, Turkey’s official outreach to Africa gained new momentum when, then prime minister, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared 2005 the Year of Africa, and Turkey was accorded observer status by the African Union.