By Yiğit Saner
Türkiye is steadily developing its relations with African countries. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was recently in Niger, a key country in the Sahel region. The primary topics of Fidan’s talks were energy, mining, trade, intelligence and defense. Fidan was accompanied by Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, and National Intelligence Organization Director İbrahim Kalın. The Turkish delegation met with Nigerien President General Abdourahamane Tiani, Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, and Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangaré.
Sound approach and productive results
In the statement in the capital Niamey, Hakan Fidan said “While developing our relations with Africa, we are implementing projects that prioritize the benefit and prosperity of the local people, our brothers.” He noted that “Türkiye is committed to sharing its experience in combating terrorism with friendly countries”, stressing that “terrorism is one of the major problems for Africans.” He added “We discussed what can be done to improve defense industry and intelligence cooperation with Niger.”
In turn, Nigerien Prime Minister Zeine expressed, “We welcome the dynamism of cooperation with Türkiye, especially in the defense sector.” Addressing the Turkish officials, Zeine said, “The security challenges imposed on us require that we have all necessary means to ensure our defense, and we know you can provide these.”
Goodbye to France, the US and Germany
Niger has been drawing worldwide attention with its anti-imperialist moves for quite some time. In July 2023, forces led by General Tiani ousted the Paris-supported. Subsequent actions targeted colonialists. Many mining contracts with Western countries were terminated. France, which had stationed troops under the pretext of fighting extremist terrorist groups, was expelled by the end of 2023. The same fate was for the Americans stationed at the famous Air Base 101 with similar pretexts. The return ticket date for the remaining 200 US soldiers in Agadez in northern Niger is set for September 15. The Germans are expected to leave by the end of August. I don’t think the Nigerians will miss any of them.
Niger is allied with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali. On July 6, the three countries declared the Alliance of Sahel States (ASS). Türkiye equips ASS countries with UAVs which are crucial in the fight against terrorism. Turkish companies work in various sectors in Niger including defense, air transport, construction, energy, education, health and trade. Niger and Türkiye had signed a “Cooperation Agreement in the Mining Sector” in 2020.
Allegations of uranium
Bloomberg claimed that the main purpose of Fidan’s visit was the need for uranium for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant and other planned facilities. Bloomberg based this claim on unnamed sources and did not disclose the nationalities of these sources.
Niger holds 5% of the world’s uranium reserves and ranks seventh in the world. Turkish diplomatic sources told Reuters that Ankara does not plan to purchase uranium from Niger for the Akkuyu plant.
The continent of the future
Türkiye has been taking positive steps in Africa for a long time. Türkiye has embassies in 44 of the continent’s 54 countries and maintains good relations with many in the continent. President Erdoğan is known to place great importance on this issue.
As anti-imperialist winds sweep colonizers out of Africa, countries like Türkiye, Russia and China are pursuing policies that respect African peoples and ensure mutual benefit and prosperity instead of exploitation and imperiousness. This constructive policy fosters the trust that is essential for a positive relationship. As long as this continues, Africa’s doors will remain open to Türkiye, enabling it to be a major player on the continent where the future lies.