Turkey highly appreciates Togo's support in the fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a joint news conference with his Togolese counterpart Faure Gnassingbe in the capital Lome, Erdogan said that steps can be taken in military security cooperation so that terrorism does not infiltrate the West African region.
"We will always continue to stand by Togo in this regard," he added.
"We want friendly countries to be cleansed of the scourge of FETO, I hope we will achieve this," Erdogan stressed.
FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.
Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
The Turkish leader said his visit marked the first presidential one from Turkey and high-level bilateral ties have recently gained momentum with both sides agreeing on cooperation in various fields.
"We have a similar perspective and approach on various subjects; we are willing to our cooperate in politics, economy, commerce and military," he said, adding that Turkey welcomed Togo's active regional foreign policy with regards to resolution of tensions through peaceful means.
He noted that the trade volume between the two countries reached $148 million as of 2020 and Turkish companies were ready to be part of investments in tourism, agriculture, energy and construction as part of Turkey's national development plan.
"We have steps we could take together, especially in the [field of] defense industry," Erdogan said, noting that the two countries could also take a joint stance in defense and security in an effort to thwart possible terror infiltration into the region.
Erdogan also underlined that Turkey and the Turkic Council will donate COVID-19 jabs to Togo, Burkina Faso, and Liberia as part of efforts in the fight against the pandemic.
The Turkic Council was established in 2009 as an intergovernmental organization with an overarching aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic-speaking states. It consists of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan as member countries and Hungary as an observer state.
The Turkish president started a four-day tour of three African countries, including Angola, Togo, and Nigeria, on Sunday.
Erdogan's African tour, which also includes Nigeria, is considered significant for new cooperation opportunities in Africa.
In Togo, Erdogan gathered with two other African leaders during a dinner, including Christian Kabore and George Manneh Weah, respectively presidents of Burkina Faso and Liberia.
Gnassingbe said his country sought to benefit from Turkey's military experience and cooperate in the fight against terrorism and Erdogan's visit demonstrated the importance Ankara attaches to Togo as well as value of investments.
He underlined that no other non-African figure had visited the continent as much as Erdogan and Africans were aware of the quality and quantity of Turkish investments, which are visible in Senegal and Rwanda.
He said that "we should improve our ongoing dialog as the dialog between the two countries also benefits other regional countries." -
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