Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 7th March 2019: The African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson, H.E. Amb. Kwesi Quartey, today, held bilateral talks with H.E. Mrs. Yaprak Alp, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, at the AU Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Amb. Quartey welcomed Mrs. Yaprak Alp, on behalf the Chairperson, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, to the African Union Headquarters and commended the Government of Turkey for the prudent management of her economy.

They both acknowledged the importance of advancing the existing collaboration between the African Union and Turkey within the domain of capacity building, trade and investment, education, science and technology in Africa.

Amb. Quartey briefed Mrs. Yaprak Alp on the priority focus of the Commission, highlighting the role of science and technology in transforming societies. He indicated that the African Union was vigorously pursuing its integration agenda and seeking to strengthen relations with partners such as Turkey, in order to attain equitable and inclusive socio-economic transformation and development of the continent.

He informed the Ambassador on the progress made in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as well as ongoing efforts to advance the broad integration agenda of the Union and called on the Government of Turkey to encourage Turkish investors to invest more in Africa.

Responding, Mrs. Yaprak Alp thanked the Deputy Chairperson for the audience. She expressed her resolve, as Permanent Representative of Turkey to the African Union, to work towards deepening the longstanding and cordial relationship between the AU Commission and her country.

She noted that Africa and Turkey have a lot in common which if harnessed properly would contribute to an effective partnership. She also expressed her willingness to engage the Commission on ways to enhance the existing bilateral relations between the African Union and Turkey for the mutual benefit of their two peoples. She further expressed her readiness to exchange views with relevant departments of the Commission on the AU theme for 2019, “The Year of Refugees, Returnees & Internally Displaced Persons: Toward Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa”.

Media Enquiry:

Gamal Ahmed A. Karrar, Directorate of Information and Communication; E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org

For further information:
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org I Website: http://www.au.int