ANNEX FRAMEWORK OF COOPERATION FOR AFRICA TURKEY PARTNERSHIP

Transcription

1 ANNEX FRAMEWORK OF COOPERATION FOR AFRICA TURKEY PARTNERSHIP The Heads of State and Government and Heads of Delegation of Africa, representing the Continent and the African Union and its Institutions; and the President of the Republic of Turkey meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, for the First Africa-Turkey Cooperation Summit from 18 to 21 August 2008; HAVE DECIDED to adopt this Framework of Cooperation for implementing the Istanbul Declaration on Africa-Turkey Partnership. I. Inter-governmental Cooperation Recognizing the importance of inter-governmental cooperation as a vehicle for promoting partnership between Africa and Turkey and in this regard, recognizing the efforts made by the Turkish Government to provide developmental assistance to African countries including through the establishment of three Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) regional offices in Africa namely, in Addis Ababa, Khartoum and Dakar and its willingness to establish such offices in other African countries; We have agreed that Africa and Turkey should: 1) Strengthen their inter- governmental links, explore new areas of cooperation, to closely monitor progress made in present areas of cooperation and share experiences in order to enhance their mutually beneficial partnership; 2) Promote the exchange of high level visits and to conduct regular intergovernmental dialogue and cooperation in order to create and maintain a favorable climate for business contacts and trade between Africa and Turkey; 3) Promote developmental projects entailing the utilization of local resources, the creation of local employment and the development of human resources; 4) Promote technology transfer, technical assistance, and capacity building and sharing of experiences and best practices. II. Trade and Investment Acknowledging the critical role that Trade and Investment should play within the framework of this partnership as agents of development, we note the progress that has been made in the areas of trade and investment and We: 1

2 1) Pledge to create a favorable legal and stimulating business environment for economic cooperation as a central pillar of the Africa-Turkey Partnership; 2) Commit ourselves to move toward both balanced and increased trade, whilst acknowledging the need to assist in the improvement of the production capacity and diversification of the composition of African exports; 3) Agree to initiate and work towards concluding the appropriate legal framework to promote and protect mutual trade and investment within the scope of economic, commercial and technical cooperation. 4) Agree that the present framework for cooperation will take into account bilateral and multilateral agreements already in place between several African countries and Turkey and will be implemented without prejudice to those existing bilateral agreements which should be seen as a positive sign for a more comprehensive and deep-seated economic tie between the African continent and Turkey; 5) Promote cooperation between the financial institutions of Africa and Turkey and in this regard we welcome the admission of Turkey as a non regional member of the African Development Bank and a State participant in the African Development Fund. We also welcome the willingness of the Turkish Eximbank as well as the Turkish government to provide loans for the financing of African development projects including continental infrastructure network in Africa; 6) Welcome the growing interest shown by the Turkish business community in investing in Africa and the desire to increase Turkish direct investment in Africa and in this context encourage the Turkish side to provide appropriate incentives and support Turkish entrepreneurs to invest in Africa and the African side to do the same; 7) Recognize the leading role played by the private sector in improving and enlarging trade as well as economic relations between African countries and Turkey. We, therefore, encourage mutual participation by this sector in trade fairs being organized in Africa and in Turkey. Within this context, we note with satisfaction the participation of many African countries in the traditional Izmir International Trade Fair as well as the annual trade gathering organized by TUSKON at Istanbul; 8) Commit ourselves to encourage the establishment of joint business councils between Africa and Turkey. III. Agriculture, Agribusiness, Rural Development, Water Resources Management and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) 2

3 Acknowledging the important role played by agriculture, agribusiness, rural development and water resources management with respect to the economic development of the African continent, We welcome the increasing support provided in these fields by the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) to various African States in terms of expertise and training, as well the Turkish Government s undertaking to enlarge and speed up the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency s (TIKA) programmes to provide vocational training for the development of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa. IV. Health We have taken cognizance of Turkey s initiatives in supporting Africa in the area of health and related issues as well as its willingness to further provide assistance and expertise in this sector, and in this regard, we agree to: 1) Intensify efforts aimed at overcoming malnutrition and communicable and epidemic diseases; 2) Consolidate the efforts made by African countries and the International Community to combat HIV / AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other infectious diseases as well as the actions taken toward eradicating poverty. In this regard, we shall explore together ways of increasing Africa s capacity to manufacture generic drugs on the continent so as to make them readily available and more affordable. V. Peace and Security Considering that Peace and Security is a prerequisite for development and cooperation; and acknowledging the Turkish contribution to UN Peacekeeping Operations in Africa, We: 1) Note the existing framework of cooperation between Africa and Turkey both bilaterally and multilaterally by recognizing the need for expanding and deepening these relationships including cooperation in the operationalization of the AU Peace and Security Architecture and in particular the African Standby Force and in this regard, enhance the training of relevant forces; 2) Acknowledge the experience of Africa and Turkey in the context of the global war against terrorism and reaffirm their commitment to share their expertise and experience in this regard. We particularly recognize the work of the "Centre of Excellence Defense against Terrorism (COE-DAT)" and the "African Centre for Research and Studies on Terrorism" (ACRST) and call for close cooperation between the two Centres. 3

4 VI. Infrastructure, Energy and Transport In view of the need to develop infrastructure facilities in order to support other development sectors, to achieve the MDGs in this area, We commit to: 1) Exchange experiences and best practices for the development of renewable and sustainable energy, non-agricultural biofuel and other alternative sources of energy; 2) Create better access to the production and use of clean energies; production and use of environmentally sustainable energy sources as well as promote regional integration and interconnection networks. 3) Develop land, maritime and air transports infrastructure as well as expand air links between African countries and Turkey and in this regard we encourage business partnerships between Africa and Turkey in order to execute physical infrastructure projects; VII. Culture, Tourism and Education Recognizing the important role culture, tourism and education can play in developing links between African countries and Turkey, We: 1) Commit ourselves to initiating and concluding framework agreements that would enable cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism education, science and technology, youth activities and sports including through cultural exchange programme; 2) Express appreciation for the scholarship opportunities provided by Turkey for African students, which currently stands at more than 300 higher education scholarships and agree on the need to increase this number in future years; 3) Agree on the need to facilitate enlarged and enhanced cooperation between African and Turkish Universities and research institutions; 4) Also agree to expand the programme for twinning cities between Africa and Turkey and to facilitate greater interaction and cooperation between their local authorities; 5) Further agree to strengthen partnership with all stakeholders with a view to advancing tourism development between the two regions; 6) Commit to cooperate in the fight against the illicit trade in cultural goods, and facilitate and support the return of illegally acquired cultural goods to their countries of origins set out in the relevant international instruments. 4

5 VIII. Media and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Recognizing the importance of communication and information flow as a means of promoting knowledge about different cultures and societies in Africa and Turkey, breaking down stereotypes and enhancing mutually beneficial relationships among their peoples, We: 1) Commit ourselves to jointly plan and undertake agreed initiatives to proactively reach out to the African, Turkish and international media, and publicize the African Union, as well as African and Turkish priorities and achievements; 2) Agree to promote opportunities for greater interaction and sharing of experiences among media personnel in Africa and Turkey through exchange programmes that will create awareness of issues and challenges confronting Africa and Turkey with a view to establishing framework of collaboration that can help to resolve them; 3) Agree to support each other in the exploration of new technologies that would facilitate faster and more efficient communication and information dissemination; 4) Agree also to support capacity building in the area of information technology; 5) Agree to cooperate in the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Tunis, Tunisia from 16 to 18 November IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP MECHANISM In order to ensure the effective implementation of the programmes and policies agreed to in this Framework of Cooperation. We agree to establish a follow-up mechanism at several levels as follows: 1) The Africa-Turkey Summit will be held every five (5) years in Africa and in Turkey, on a rotational basis. 2) The second Africa-Turkey Summit will be held in Africa in the year ) A Ministerial Review Conference that will meet every third year in the period between Summits to assess and evaluate the progress of implementation of the Programme of Action and prepare for the Summit meeting. 4) A meeting of Senior Officials that will take place twice in between two summits to review the progress of implementation of agreed programmes and projects, disseminate information about cooperation arrangements, propose new initiatives and report to and prepare for the Ministerial Review Conference. 5

6 5) The meetings both at Ministerial and Senior Officials levels shall be organized in Africa and in Turkey on an alternate basis within the framework laid out by the First Africa -Turkey Cooperation Summit. 6) These areas of cooperation shall be implemented in the context of a programme which we shall develop within the next one year and the follow-up Mechanism contained in this Framework of Cooperation. Done at Istanbul on 19 August