Turkey wants to walk along with Africa when a new world order is being established, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday at a joint press conference with his Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in the capital Nouakchott.
Erdogan started his tour on February 26 with a visit to Algeria; he is expected to visit Mali and Senegal next.
“We will form an alliance with Mauritania on a win-win basis,” Erdogan said.
#Turkey and #Mauritania have common cultural and historical ties. We attach importance to diversify our bilateral cooperation on the basis of mutual interest. pic.twitter.com/moZILATiLR
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) February 28, 2018
He also thanked President Aziz for Mauritania’s support in the fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO).
Erdogan’s visit is Turkey’s first-ever official visit at the presidential level to Mauritania.
Bilateral agreements
Erdogan and Aziz held an one-on-one meeting for approximately one hour, which was followed by a meeting of delegations for half an hour.
The two leaders then oversaw the signing ceremony of several bilateral agreements.
The agreements involved cooperation in fishery and marine economy, agriculture, protection of investments, tourism, hydrocarbons, mines and minerals, diaspora issues, Turkish Maarif Foundation and higher education scholarships.
Erdogan, also accompanied by a delegation of businessmen and investors, is expected to hold talks to boost trade ties.
Reaction to Washington’s Jerusalem move
Erdogan commented on the UN Security Council’s resolution in December rejecting US President Donald Trump’s Jerusalem declaration.
“We will never compromise where we stand on Jerusalem. Al Quds [Jerusalem] is Palestine’s capital. We declared it before.”
In #Nouakchott, accompanying President @RT_Erdogan who is paying the first official presidential visit from #Turkey to #Mauritania. pic.twitter.com/zr93Rn3Lix
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) February 28, 2018
On December 6, Trump announced his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite worldwide opposition. The decision sparked angry demonstrations across the Muslim world.
Following the Security Council’s resolution, which would have passed unanimously but for a US veto, the General Assembly passed a resolution spurning the US move by 128-9 votes.
Last December, Erdogan paid a four-day visit to Sudan, Chad and Tunisia.
Since 2004, Erdogan has paid official visits to 24 African countries and witnessed the signing of numerous bilateral pacts.
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