World Bulletin/News Desk

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Friday that the African continent was a new actor which developed day by day at the global stage in the 21th century.

Bozdag who spoke at the 50th anniversary of the OAU/AU Golden Jubilee "Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance" Conference, said that the African continent played a more active role in the international system and had the fastest growing economy in the past 10 years.

Bozdag said that Turkey contributed in the peace and stability in Africa, and underlined that Turkey supported a system that would help use of resources in Africa by African people.

"Turkey's relations with Africa have historical ties and the policy to open to Africa started in 1998 and is successfully completed today," Bozdag reminded.

Bozdag explained that when Turkey became non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2009-2010, it worked at every occasion in the international arena to act as the voice of Africa.

Bozdag reminded that till 2013, a total of 34 Turkish embassies had been opened in Africa and 25 African embassies were opened in Turkey. "The trade volume reached in 2012 almost USD 6.5 billion, growing almost ten times in the past 12 years," Bozdag underlined, and added that 3,254 scholarships were given to African countries between 1991 and 2011, and 561 students got scholarship in 2012 and 2013.