A Historic Milestone in Türkiye–Africa Trade: Volume Reaches $40 Billion in 2025

TASCA
1 day ago
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Updated: 9 hours ago

Economic and trade relations between Türkiye and African countries reached a historic milestone in 2025, with total trade volume climbing to $40 billion. Recently released data shows that the Türkiye–Africa partnership, which has steadily strengthened over the past two decades, has now evolved into a strategic relationship supported by measurable economic figures.

As part of Türkiye’s Africa outreach policy, trade volume stood at $5.4 billion in 2003. By the end of 2024, it had exceeded $37 billion, and in 2025 reached approximately $40 billion, representing more than sevenfold growth. This sharp increase highlights Africa’s increasingly central role in Türkiye’s foreign trade portfolio.

Rapid Growth and Balanced Trade Structure

According to available data, Türkiye’s exports to Africa have grown steadily in parallel with imports in recent years, reflecting a relatively balanced trade structure. Key sectors driving this growth include machinery, iron and steel, food products, defense industry goods, construction materials, and textiles.

Imports from African countries to Türkiye are largely composed of energy resources, minerals, agricultural products, and raw materials. This structure indicates the emergence of a complementary trade model between the two sides.

Investments and Contracting Projects Take the Lead

Alongside rising trade volume, Türkiye’s investments across Africa have also reached notable levels. Turkish contracting companies have undertaken projects worth over $100 billion across the continent to date, with more than 1,000 projectscompleted or currently underway.

In addition, Turkish investors’ direct investments in Africa are estimated to be approaching the $10–15 billion range, particularly in industry, agriculture, energy, logistics, and services. These investments contribute not only to trade growth but also to local employment and production capacity in host countries.

Medium-Term Target: $50 Billion

Among the targets shared by officials is the ambition to raise total trade volume between Türkiye and Africa to $50 billion in the medium term. To achieve this goal, plans include expanding free trade agreements, logistics infrastructure investments, financing mechanisms, and bilateral business forums.

A Strategic Partnership Model

Experts note that this picture demonstrates Türkiye–Africa relations have moved beyond a purely diplomatic or political framework. Rising trade volumes, investment figures, and project numbers indicate that the relationship has transformed into a measurable, sustainable, and strategic partnership model.

As Türkiye’s economic presence across Africa is expected to deepen further in both trade and investment, the 2025 data confirms that this partnership has entered a strong new phase supported by concrete economic indicators.