Turkish PM vows to continue support for Africa

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said Turkey would continue to support peace and stability in Africa. Erdogan made the remarks at a joint press conference with visiting Senegalese Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye after their talks in the Turkish capital of Ankara. The Turkish prime minister said Senegal was one of the most important players in Africa to maintain peace and stability with a stable political system. He added that Turkey and Senegal have deep-rooted relations, noting that Turkey was one of the first countries to open an embassy in the African country. Within the past decade Turkey has opened 24 new embassies in Africa, bringing the total number of highest Turkish foreign missions on the continent to 34, according to Erdogan. Turkey's Istanbul is set to host the second edition of Turkey- Africa Cooperation Summit in 2013, which Erdogan said would boost the strategic partnership between Turkey and Africa. For his part, Mbaye urged Turkish businessmen to make more investments in his country, saying that relations between the two countries have developed significantly over the past few years due to boosting trade and business ties. "We can do better. We want to increase Turkish investments in our country alongside our developing political relations," said Mbaye. He added that Senegal would be a springboard for the Turkish businessmen to operate in a wider area in Africa.