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Turkey, Africa
begin cooperation summit
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ADDIS
ABABA(August 19,2008) - Istanbul hosted the first
Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit yesterday with the participation
of heads of state and government, and foreign ministers from about
50 African countries, including Sudan's controversial President Omar
Hassan al-Bashir.
This would be Bashir's first trip abroad since the International Criminal
Court moved to indict him for genocide in Darfur.
A meeting of foreign ministers attending the summit also held on Monday.
The three-day summit in Turkey's cultural and financial center is
part of the country's intensifying efforts to expand ties and increase
trade volume with the African continent, according to reports from
Istanbul.
The reports added that the summit, which begun under the banner of
"Solidarity and Cooperation for a Common Future," will also
host representatives from around 20 international bodies such as the
U.N., African Development Bank, and the Arab League.
Presidents from six countries, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau,
Comoros, Mali and Sudan; and six prime ministers from Ethiopia, Morocco,
Niger, Togo, Rwanda and Uganda will attend the summit which will officially
start on Tuesday.
On the sidelines of the summit a Turkish-African Business Forum will
also be held.
The Istanbul summit will try to seek ways to improve Turkey's relations
with African countries and develop a sustainable cooperation path.
Turkey has increased its trade volume with African nations from around
$5.4 billion to $13 billion in less then three years, and is targeting
$30 billion by the end of 2010. |
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