Turkey to open 14 new embassies in Africa

Turkey will open 14 new embassies in Africa, nearly doubling its diplomatic presence on the continent, announced the Foreign Ministry yesterday. As part of past diplomatic efforts, Ankara declared 2005 the Year of Africa and held a Turkey-Africa summit last year with the participation of nearly 50 leaders from African countries. Relations between Turkey and Africa have accelerated with Turkey's non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council. The new embassies will open in Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Uganda and Zambia, as well as a consulate general in Sudan. Turkey currently has embassies in 13 African nations.