Monday, May 30, 2016
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will pay an official visit to Uganda and Kenya between May 31 and June 3, marking the first time a Turkish president has visited these East African countries.
A statement released by the presidency said that the president will meet with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni on June 1 and will preside over inter-committee meetings.
He will then head to Kenya and meet with President Uhuru Kenyatta to hold meetings.
Businessmen from Turkey are also expected to accompany President Erdoğan during his trip and will aim to strengthen economic ties.
"These meetings will also strengthen bilateral relations between the aforementioned countries and Turkey and will allow for discussions on bilateral cooperation, as well as regional and international issues," the statement said.
In February, President Erdoğan visited Western African nations including Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Guinea.
Last year he visited Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia, spearheading a drive to expand the Turkish presence in Africa.
Turkey has more than tripled the number of embassies it has in Africa since 2009 while flag carrier Turkish Airlines now has dozens of destinations on the continent.
Bilateral trade between Turkey and all of Africa came to $23.4 billion in 2014 while bilateral trade with sub-Saharan countries has increased tenfold since 2000, according to the foreign ministry.