Diplomacy of economic cooperation between Turkey and sub-saharan African countries and future perspectives

This thesis examines the deepening economic cooperation relations between Turkey and Sub-Saharan African countries from a multidimensional perspective. It evaluates the historical development, current status and future potential of these relations in terms of diplomacy. Turkey, which has turned to Africa in its foreign policy since the 2000s, has made significant strides in the political, cultural and economic fields with the continent, especially after the declaration of the "Year of Africa" in 2005. In this context, Turkey has increased its trade volume with Sub-Saharan African countries. The study examines Turkey's economic activity in the Sub-Saharan African region in four basic dimensions: foreign trade relations, direct foreign investments, development aid and public diplomacy tools. The activities of the Turkish private sector in sectors such as infrastructure investments, agriculture, energy and construction are analyzed. At the same time, Türkiye's diplomatic initiatives, high-level visits, embassy openings and cooperation strategies on multilateral platforms to strengthen this cooperation are evaluated. As a result, the thesis aims to evaluate the following for the future of economic cooperation between Turkey and Sub-Saharan African countries: It concludes that sustainability, sensitivity to local needs, diplomatic relations based on mutual trust and regional integration strategies will be decisive. It is also emphasized that it is of critical importance for Turkey to conduct its economic diplomacy not only with an economic gain focus but also with a human development-based perspective in order to establish long-term strategic partnerships with the continent.