The Pan Afrikanist Watchman

On Friday 28^th October 2022, the Embassy of Turkey in Botswana hosted a National Day reception to celebrate the 99th anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Türkiye.

Guests included prominent personalities among them, Botswana’s third president, Festus Mogae; former cabinet minister and now a real estate mogul, David Magang; motor magnate and ruling party treasurer, Satar Dada; members of the Diplomatic Corps, among them the Russian Ambassador Andrey V. Kemaskiy; Chinese envoy, Wang Xuefeng and India’s Ambassaodr, Dr Rajesh Ranjan.

Russian Ambassador Kemaskiy could be seen mingling with other guests and deep in conversation with University of Botswana Vice Chancellor, Professor David Norris and later with UB Chancellor Tebelelo Seretse probably discussing future areas of cooperation in education between Russia and Botswana.

There was also the guest of honour, Dr. Gladys Mokhawa, the Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose presence was especially symbolic for the Ambassador of Turkey to Botswana, Meltem Büyükkarakaş, whose tour of duty in Botswana is drawing to a closein a few months’ time.

In her remaks Büyükkarakaş had this to say:

Ninety-nine (99) years ago, following a long National War of Liberation, the new Turkish National Assembly declared Türkiye to be a Republic, on October 29, 1923. This special day symbolizes the birth of modern Türkiye, out of the ashes of an Empire.

Today, as we are just one year away from the centenary of the foundation of the Turkish Republic, I feel proud and privileged to celebrate this anniversary with you, and also to commemorate our great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic and all those who made great sacrifices to make this day possible.

For the Turkish people, Republic means freedom and independence, democracy, rule of law, equal rights, social, economic and industrial development, progress led by science and reason.

We are committed to advance these values in the course of the changing nature of history, while adapting ourselves to current needs and challenges. 

Challenges of our times are massive.

During the last couple of years, Covid pandemic physically distanced us, but ironically built a strong connection and reminded us of the value of togetherness and solidarity.

The primary lesson we learned in the fight against the pandemic was the importance of international solidarity in solving global problems.

Türkiye, as a strong supporter of multilateralism, like Botswana, is an active member of the international community, doing more than its fair share within the framework of the UN and many regional organizations to help solve problems we all are facing.

Türkiye is blessed to be a bridge between continents, people and different cultures. For centuries, our unique location inspired and shaped our history and character. Tolerance and coexistence are the inherent characteristics of the Turkish nation.

Türkiye is a Mediterranean, Balkan, European, Asian, Caucasian and Black Sea country, at the same time.

The fundamental principle of Turkish foreign policy is enshrined in the words of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, “Peace at Home, Peace in the World”.

His motto endorses not only the importance of peaceful coexistence within a country, but also the fact that no country in the world can feel safe and prosper in a vacuum, while some others suffer from conflicts, deprivation or disparities.

In light of this principle, Türkiye is a country which provides the highest amount of humanitarian aid in proportion to its national income, home to the largest number of refugees in the world with more than 4.5 million refugees and spending tens of billions from its own resources for their accommodation, healthcare and education. 

As a country situated at the very heart of a region surrounded by conflicts, Türkiye strongly supports a rule-based international order, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries as enshrined in the UN Charter, as well as settlement of international disputes by peaceful means, dialogue and diplomacy.

We were happy to be able to facilitate the signing and implementation of the UN initiated deal to resume Ukraine’s grain exports to global markets and ease the growing food crisis in the developing world.

Türkiye aspires for a global reach in its foreign policy and Africa is one of the priorities. We have historical and humanitarian ties with the Continent. Türkiye has become a strategic partner of the African Union in 2008.

Since then our institutional presence has made a remarkable progress, with 44 Embassies in the continent. Investments of Turkish private sector in Africa are growing steadily, contributing to local economies and creating jobs.

We have hosted three Türkiye-Africa Partnership Summits, the last one was held in December 2021 with a broad participation of our African partners. Türkiye demonstrates on all occasions, as an equal partner, its will to contribute to the African continent’s path towards peace, development and prosperity.

Botswana is a valuable friend for Türkiye.

It is a country, admired as a role model not only in the continent, but in the world.

It has all the means for a bright future; peace and stability, good governance, a central location in the heart of the region, rich natural resources, young and educated population, and a strong political will for socio-economic transformation.

We commend the endeavours of Botswana Government to achieve a better future for the nation, as well as its contributions to safeguard peace and security in the region.

Türkiye and Botswana have been enjoying cordial relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1981, based on shared values and a constructive agenda.

As the Embassy, we focused on opening new channels of cooperation in every field and advancing the already existing ones.

In spite of the extraordinary circumstances posed by the pandemic, we were still able to take some steps to advance our cooperation in recent years.

Last year in March, we held the 2nd meeting of the Joint Commission for Cooperation at the Ministerial level. The Agreed Minutes signed during this meeting serve as a Road Map of cooperation including trade and industry, science and technology, education, health, tourism, agriculture, among others.

We are very pleased to witness a growing mutual interest from the private sectors of both countries to do business together.

Recently, the umbrella organizations of both countries’ private sectors; Business Botswana, Botswana Exporters and Manufacturers Association – BEMA and Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board – DEIK signed an agreement to establish a Business Council to serve as a direct platform of communication and cooperation, with the purposes of identifying trade and investment opportunities on win-win basis and promoting industrial and technological collaboration.

Education is another priority for both our countries. We will continue to offer higher education prospects to young Batswana through the Turkish scholarships program. We are very happy to have some of our graduates here with us today.

In recent years, despite the challenges in the education sector caused by the pandemic, we were able to send more Batswana students to study in Turkish universities.

Last year, the Ministry of Education of Botswana signed an MoU with the Higher Education Board of Türkiye which foresees cooperation between the Universities of the two countries and more scholarship opportunities.

We also aim to sign an implementation protocol to activate this collaboration to the benefit of the University of Botswana, soon.

Furthermore, Botho University signed cooperation MoUs with two prominent Turkish private universities last year and I believe this initial step will bear fruitful results in the forthcoming period.

We’ll continue to strengthen the legal basis of our cooperation with Agreements on our agenda on priority areas including health, agriculture, diplomatic training, security and a visa waiver for official and diplomatic passports, which will help us to diversify and deepen our relations.

On a personal note, as it is inevitable in the life of a diplomat, I’ll soon be completing my term in Botswana and going back to Ankara in a couple of months’ time.

For the last four years, I feel privileged to have called Botswana my home.

I got to know a beautiful and welcoming country that embraced me with its naturalness and warmth.

I am leaving behind an enlightening and educating four years, full of personal and professional firsts.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Botswana Government and particularly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the facilitation of my work and the valuable support they have been so kind to extend to me.

I also cannot thank enough the people of Botswana for the generous hospitality and friendship they have shown to me during these 4 years. I have made acquaintance here with inspiring people who enriched my soul and my mind.