Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, unloved in Europe, prophet in Africa

After Erdoğan's re-election as head of Turkey, African presidents congratulated him and praised Turkey's democracy.

In Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was re-elected president on Sunday. An election, facing Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, which shows the gap that exists between the West and Africa. Because, for several months, the European media, and French in particular, have made Kılıçdaroğlu the savior of Turkish democracy, lambasting Erdoğan, whom some, in France, have branded as a dictator.

But on the side of the African continent, the leaders observed this election from afar. The re-election of the outgoing Turkish president is good news for these presidents, who warmly congratulated him as soon as the official results were announced. From the Head of State Ivorian Alassane Ouattara to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, passing through Senegalese Macky Sall, Egyptian Abdel Fattah al-Sissi or even Andry Rajoelina, Mohamed Bazoum and Ibrahim Traoré, most leaders seemed happy to see Erdoğan re-enlist.

It must be said that, since he came to power in Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has turned particularly to Africa. A foreign policy which was started by his predecessors, Abdullah Gül and Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who developed Turkish diplomacy in the early 2000s, making Ankara a major player in Africa.

A strong partner

Diplomatically, Turkey weighs much more than at the beginning of the century: the country now has 43 embassies located in Africa. That is 31 more than in 2002. “Erdoğan's re-election symbolizes the continuation of this Africa-Turkey partnership policy. With Kılıçdaroğlu, African presidents did not really know who they were going to have to deal with, ”says an observer of Turkish political life.

Mohamed Bazoum, the President of Niger, is not mistaken: at the head of the State, Erdoğan "will contribute to further strengthening the fruitful relations between our two countries", declared the Head of State. which, moreover, tackles Europe by praising the "beautiful lesson of democracy" given by the Turkish people. Same feeling with Umaro Sissoco Embaló, head of ECOWAS, who sees in Erdoğan's re-election "a great mark of confidence from the Turkish people".

Beyond the diplomatic aspect, it is also, for Africa, a fruitful economic policy that will continue. Turkey has established itself in Africa, with Turkey's trade volume with Africa in 2021 amounting to $28,3 billion. Ankara also hopes to double its foreign trade with Africa by 2026. Several countries, once very close to China, are beginning to turn to Turkey: Ghana and Angola, for example. But also states close to France, such as Togo, whose president also congratulated Erdoğan.