Turkey, Senegal agree to enhance bilateral relations

ISTANBUL

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Senegal President Macky Sall met on Friday in the capital Ankara and agreed to further develop bilateral relations.

In a statement from the prime ministry's press office, Yildirim and Sall stressed that they are eager to enhance already existing good relations between the two countries.

The statement said that the leaders evaluated bilateral relations while pointing out significant projects in Senegal such as Dakar conference center, which were completed by Turkish firms.

The Abdou Diouf de Diamniado International Conference Center was the largest Turkish investment officially completed in Senegal. Turkey provided €48.5 million ($57.23 million) to finance it.

Dakar's new Blaise Diagne International Airport constructed by Turkish companies Summa and Limak also opened last week.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the bilateral trade between Turkey and Senegal reached $160 million in 2016, while Turkey's imports from Senegal rose to $6.1 million in the same year.

Yildirim also thanked Senegal president for his quick response to shut down the schools linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind last year’s defeated coup in Turkey.

All FETO schools shut down

Early this week, Turkish Transport, Maritime and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan said all FETO schools in Senegal have been closed, with three placed under a new Turkish administration, thanks to good relations between the two nations.

Arslan said that out of 12 FETO schools with 2,500 students, Turkey’s Maarif (Education) Foundation (TMV) took over three of the shuttered schools, with nine others to follow once legal procedures were completed.

"Those three schools will start accepting students. However, as it is mid-term now, they expect fewer students. They will have more students by January, that is, in the second term," Arslan said.

The Maarif Foundation was established after the July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey to take over the administration of overseas schools linked to FETO. It also establishes schools and education centers abroad.

To date, it has taken over dozens of FETO-linked schools in the African countries of Somalia, Guinea, Niger, Sudan, and the People's Republic of Congo.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 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.

FETO also has a considerable presence outside Turkey, including private educational institutions that serve as a revenue stream for the terrorist group.