Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan Discusses Important Issues During His Visit to Niger
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that they discussed many issues during their visit to Niger, including the fight against terrorism, education, energy, health, trade, security and defense. He stated that they discussed what could be done to advance the defense industry and intelligence capacity in Niger, as they did in Somalia. He emphasized that they also discussed the steps to be taken against terrorism, which is the main source of instability in the Sahel region.
Following his visits to Niger, Minister Fidan made statements to the press. Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, Director of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) İbrahim Kalın, Presidential Defense Industries Director Haluk Görgün and Deputy Minister of Trade Özgür Volkan Ağar were also present at the press conference with Minister Fidan.
Partnership Policy with Africa
Fidan said that they visited Niger with a distinguished delegation and held very productive meetings there. He stated that Turkey’s partnership policy with Africa is becoming more institutionalized and progressing day by day, and that joint efforts with African countries are intensifying in areas such as diplomacy, economy, finance, security, defense, education and health.
Fidan stated that historical relations with Niger date back to the Ottoman period and that in recent years they have made efforts to establish relations on a more structural basis. He emphasized that the instability in the Sahel region makes the terrorism problem more chronic with each passing day and stated that peace, security and stability in Africa are among their priorities.
Common Steps and Collaboration
Fidan stated that they discussed many issues during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Niger in line with his vision of providing a strategic perspective. He said that they discussed issues such as the fight against terrorism, education, energy, health, trade, security, and defense, and that they agreed to take joint steps with Niger.
He said that the issue of fighting terrorism in Niger was discussed and that they discussed what could be done to advance the defense industry and intelligence capacity. He said that it was also decided to increase cooperation in education, health, economy, energy and mining.
Minister Fidan stated that they were following a policy of sharing Turkey’s experience in the fight against terrorism with friendly countries, and emphasized that terrorism was one of the major problems of Africans.
