Turkish FM: 'Turkey continues to increase its presence in Africa'

Turkish FM:
# 23 February 2021 04:11 (UTC +04:00)

Given the rise in the number of Ankara's diplomatic missions across Africa, Turkey's foreign minister said on Monday his country's presence in the continent continues to increase, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency.

"The African continent with its 33 Least Developed Countries [LDCs] is in need of solid leadership and support from its developed partners for economic growth, social progress, woman and youth empowerment," said Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Speaking at the Africa Regional Review Meeting for the 5th UN Conference of the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), the Turkish foreign minister said there is still much to be done for helping the least developed countries especially at a time when the world is facing additional challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"A decade ago with the Istanbul Programme of Action, we put forward an ambitious vision for LDCs. Since then, the LDCs have achieved progress in bringing the people out of poverty. However, only three countries have graduated from the LDCs category in the last decade," he said.

The foreign minister added that Turkey, as the co-chair of the Group of Friends of the LDCs, will continue to do its best to help them reach their objectives on economic growth, social progress, woman and youth empowerment.

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