NIAMEY
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was willing to establish permanent cooperation with Africa based on mutual interest and respect.
"We want permanent cooperation not with a colonialist mind set but one that is based on mutual interest and respect. And we are today here in Niger for this reason," Erdogan told a Turkish-Nigerien Business Forum in Niger's capital, Niamey, the second stop of his three-nation African tour.
Erdogan said Turkey had become Europe's sixth and the world's 17th biggest economy, adding that his country was "a global center of attraction."
The Turkish premier said bilateral trade volume between the two countries had increased since 2009, adding that figure reached $39 million in 2012.
"We need to boost our trade volume further because this does not match our countries' true potentials. " Erdogan said.
Erdogan said Turkey aimed at increasing investments in the least developed African countries to $5 billion by 2015 and to $10 billion by 2020.
Erdogan said Turkey's international development and cooperation agency, TIKA, had opened 120 thousand water wells in Africa, 20 of which were in Niger, in addition to 230 waters wells opened by Turkey's water works authority.
The Turkish premier said Turkey had provided scholarships to 561 students from sub-Saharan countries, adding that Turkey also contributed financial resources and personnel to five of six UN missions in Africa.
