TRANSFORMATION: Turkey: From sick man of Europe to healthy investor in Africa

Never heard of a country in the unique position of straddling/spanning two continents? Well, the Republic of Turkey is that country, which is partly in Europe (Istanbul, etc), while the rest is in Asia! Generally, a continent is ‘a continuous mass of land... one of the larger divisions of unbroken land... Really? Europe is designated a ‘Continent;’ India a ‘sub-continent!’ America is made up of two continents: North and South America!

But, no matter... Turkey describes itself as ‘a secular parliamentary democracy located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and bordered by several countries...’ These are Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Although Tanzania doesn’t span two continents like Turkey, it nonetheless has as many neighbouring countries... Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique!

But, therein end the similarities: a wealth of neighbours – and both country’s names start with the letter ‘T!’ Turkey’s area size (301,381sq miles) is more or less the same as that of Tanzania (364,886sq miles). But 30 per cent of the land is arable, compared to a mere 6 per cent for Tanzania!

Turkey has for years been a middle-income economy, while Tanzania’s development vision to become a middle-income economy in/by 2025 is receding further and further into a bleak, distant future as the years speed by! The Turkic Empire (popularly: the ‘Ottoman Empire’) was a successor to the 1,000-year long Byzantine Empire which was consigned into the Dustbin of History by the Ottomans in 1453. The ‘new’ Empire lasted about 400 years.

However, the Empire was powerful and prestigious in the 16th and 17th Centuries Christian Era. Thereafter, it declined with the passage of time – to finally be described as the ‘Sick Man of Europe’ by Czar Nicholas-I of Russia in the mid-19th Century CE! But, up until just before the Great War (1914-18), Turkey ruled over what are today Syria, Lebanon Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Israel... Yes: Israel! If Czar Nicholas-I were alive today, he’d have had to eat his words. Turkey has moved away from that ‘Sick Man’ image to a relatively powerful, rapidly-growing nation-state in terms of meaningful and sustainable socio-economic development. It’s a member of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), the G-20, the EU Customs Union and Free Trade Area! Turkey’s also outward-looking, creating ‘working relationships’ with many another country within the comity of nations. Today, it has diplomatic relations with 35 out of Africa’s 54 countries! Ankara was also ‘home’ to 28 African Embassies last year!

Bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Africa  reached $23.4 billion in 2013 – $7.5 billion of that was in trade with sub-Saharan countries. Turkey decidedly and decisively transformed itself from the sick man of Europe into a socio-economic healer of Africa, rapidly forging links with the continent since it was granted ‘African Union Observer Status’ in 2005. Perhaps one day Tanzania – the ‘sick man of Africa’ – will one day rise Turkey-like from the ashes of (self) impoverishment and to the next higher level of meaningful and sustainable socio-economic development... Cheers!