Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is set to visit Rwanda on Thursday, January 12, as part of a 5-nation Africa tour that starts on Sunday, January 8. According to a statement by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Çavuşoğlu’s tour will start in South Africa, before he continues to Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe between January 8 to 14. “All aspects of our bilateral relations will be elaborated with the aforementioned countries, and regional developments as well as Turkey’s Africa Partnership Policy will be reviewed during the visit of Minister Çavuşoğlu,” the statement read. Turkey has developed a globally extensive network of cooperation including High Level Cooperation Councils with 29 countries, 4 Intergovernmental Summits, and a host of trilateral or other multilateral regional formations. The Balkan nation is seeking to deepen its partnership policy in Africa, and reach out to the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. In December 2021, the third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit was hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul, and it was attended by 16 Heads of State and Government, and a total of 100 Ministers, 25 of them being Foreign Ministers. The bilateral ties between Rwanda and Turkey have over the past few years gained momentum, both in terms of bilateral trade between both countries and politically. In November last year, it was reported that Rwanda’s exports to Turkey had increased to over $10 million on an annual basis. Rwanda’s Private Sector Federation (PSF) has also developed relations with their Turkish counterparts, and as part of this, Rwandan businessmen participated in the Rwanda-Turkey Economic and Business Forum which took place in November last year. Rwanda and Turkey have also signed more than 15 cooperation agreements in different fields, significant of which is trade. Rwanda’s import volume to Turkey, according to the PSF, was at $79 million in 2021. Among other things, Rwanda has also attracted Turkish investors in the recent past. For example, in September last year, Dogus Group, a famous Turkish hospitality company said it was looking to invest in Rwanda’s hospitality sector by setting up at least three luxury resort hotels. The hotels are expected to be constructed in Kigali, Karongi, and around Lake Kivu belt. Doğuş Group is one of the largest private conglomerates in Turkey. It has a portfolio of 250 companies in seven industries, including high-end car dealerships, retail stores, restaurants, cafes, construction companies, radio stations, and media and tourism businesses.
