by Gozde Sogutlu
With the 1998 African Opening Policy, Turkey has significantly increased its engagement in Africa and adopted a multifaceted approach aiming to strengthen its presence in the continent in economic, cultural, defence and development fields. Turkey has accelerated its multifaceted foreign policy approach with the declaration of 2005 as the Year of Africa, and since then, Turkey has succeeded in gaining the trust of the countries of the continent through development aid, trade, security and defence agreements reflecting its smart power capacity. One of the regions in the continent where Turkey has established unilateral as well as multilateral co-operation relations is the Sahel region, which represents a wide geography by including countries in North and West Africa on the one hand and countries in Central and East Africa on the other.
Turkey’s motivations to expand its influence as a reliable partner in the Sahel, which has become the arena of global and regional competition, include an entrepreneurial and humanitarian foreign policy goal. Considering the energy potential of the region, it is possible to say that another motivation for Turkey to deepen its relations with the countries in the region is to ensure the sustainability of its economic growth in line with its goal of diversifying its energy resources. From the perspective of the countries in the region, it is observed that countries such as Burkino Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger, which have been destabilised by recurrent conflicts, are in search of new allies, especially in the field of security, by ending their traditional dependence on Western powers. Therefore, it is not surprising that the political and economic motives that bring the countries of the Sahel region and Turkey together at the same point enable the establishment of multidimensional relations by developing alliance relations between the parties.
Turkey has intensified its high-level visits with the countries of the region in order to realise its strategic objectives structured around the reshaping of the regional equation in the Sahel region. The last high-level visit of Turkish political officials was to Niger, the leading country of the region with its geographical location, mineral and oil resources, potential for renewable energy development and strong demographic growth. On 17 July 2024, a high-level Turkish delegation consisting of Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yaşar Güler, Minister of National Defence, Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and İbrahim Kalın, Head of the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), held a joint working meeting in Niamey, the capital of Niger, under the chairmanship of Niger’s President Ali Mahamen Lamine Zeine. This visit, which is a reflection of the political and economic ties between the two countries, aimed to raise these ties to a higher level. As a matter of fact, it is possible to say that the foundation of multilateral relations between Turkey and Niger was laid in January 2024 with the high-level visit of Niger Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine to Turkey upon the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The visit of Turkish political officials to Niger is important as it coincides with a period of important turning points in Niger’s politics. As is known, Niger was the centre of the last of the wave of military coups that swept West Africa and the Sahel region in 2023. In Niger, which has experienced four successful coups and dozens of coup attempts since its independence in 1960, a military junta had deposed the democratically elected President on 26 July 2023. The military coup brought about a series of changes not only in Niger’s domestic politics but also in its foreign policy. One of the most striking actions of General Abdurrahmane Tchiani, who came to power after the coup in Niger, a former French colony, was to reduce the dependence of the political elites before him on France. Tchiani terminated military co-operation with France and declared the French Ambassador to Niamey, Sylvain Itte, persona non grata. These initiatives, which meant the end of France’s political, economic and military influence in Niger, also heralded a radical transformation in the region. Objections against French sovereignty were also embodied by the people of Niger and protests targeting the French Embassy were staged. In this context, the high-level visit of Turkish political elites to Niger, a poor but mineral-rich country, during a period of new competition to fill the gap created by the decline of French influence in the region, is important in terms of raising the relations between the two countries to a higher level. Turkey, which does not have a colonial past and does not intend to maintain the ways and methods of the colonial order, and which focuses on establishing win-win relations with the countries in the region in line with long-term goals, has welcomed Turkey’s initiatives to expand the areas of cooperation with Niger by the Niger political elites. During the visit to Niamey, Niger’s political elites stated that they aimed to develop cooperation with Turkey in the fields of energy, mining, intelligence and defence, and that they would encourage and support Turkish companies to explore and develop oil and natural gas in Niger.
Another important action taken by the Tjihani administration after the coup was the termination of the military agreement allowing US military and civilian personnel to serve in its territory. The factor that led the Tjihani administration to take such an initiative was the fact that Niger had the largest share in the loss of life due to terrorist activities despite the assistance of European countries, especially the USA, in the fight against terrorism. Niger, one of the countries of the Sahel region, which has become the epicentre of global terrorism, has been struggling with the challenges posed by violent extremist terrorist organisations since independence in 1960. Despite its rich mineral resources, Niger is characterised by poverty due to a lack of infrastructure and state services, especially in rural areas, providing a fertile ground for the spread of violent extremist organisations. However, in the crossfire of terrorist organisations in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions, such as ISIS-Sahel, Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa and al-Qaeda affiliate Jema’at Nusrat al Islam vel Muslimin (JNIM), Niger plays a central role in curbing the reach of extremist groups. However, Niger’s counter-terrorism efforts are hampered by factors such as budgetary inadequacies and lack of cooperation and coordination in defence and security services. In this respect, Turkey has the potential to become a reliable actor in the fight against terrorism with its counter-terrorism capacity and breakthroughs in the field of defence industry. Turkey states at every opportunity that regional development is only possible through the establishment of peace and security. Turkey’s holistic approach to regional development bore fruit with the signing of a defence agreement between Turkey and Niger in 2020. The defence agreement, which will provide the Turkish military industry with the opportunity to open new markets, will also enable Turkey to build a military base in Niger in the long term and provide military training to Niger security forces. In line with the defence industry agreement signed with Turkey, the Niger government purchased six Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and 12 Hürkuş-B air combat training aircraft capable of light attack and armed reconnaissance missions in 2021 in order to increase its counter-terrorism and border security capabilities.
Conclusion
The Sahel region is among the regions where Turkey has expanded its sphere of influence through multilateral and long-term agreements and co-operations in the fields of economic, political and security, especially humanitarian development, in line with its foreign policy goal of opening up to Africa. Turkey has deepened its engagement in the region, particularly in Burkino Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, and has developed policies that will enable the restoration of peace and security in the region due to the security dilemma in the region. In Niger, one of the countries of the Sahel region, where challenges such as political instability, humanitarian crises and terrorism are intertwined, Turkey is becoming a credible actor in the region through the close contacts of Turkish political officials with a wide range of actors, including government bodies and private sector companies. Therefore, it is possible to say that geopolitical concerns, economic interests and trade dynamics will bring the parties closer to each other in the face of the increasing complexity of the international system.
