Rédaction Africa Links 24 with lexpress
Published on 2024-02-29 02:45:00
An economic and diplomatic offensive. This is how a communication from the presidency announces the visit of the presidential couple to Turkey today. An official trip, during which President Andry Rajoelina will attend the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, starting tomorrow, until March 4. This trip of the Head of State was formalized by yesterday’s council of ministers’ statement. “The President of the Republic will lead the Malagasy delegation that will attend the Diplomatic Forum with the theme: Effective diplomacy for peace and order,” reports the presidential institution’s message. This will be the second foreign trip of the tenant of Iavoloha since his inauguration for a second term. It will be the 3rd edition of the Antalya Forum. At the initiative of the Turkish Government, the aim of the meeting is to strengthen and broaden its sphere of economic and diplomatic cooperation, particularly with African countries, for this third edition. Twenty Heads of State and around sixty Foreign Ministers will be present. Andry Rajoelina is among the “special guests,” according to the council of ministers’ statement. Presence at major events Like his recent trip to Dubai, Andry Rajoelina plans to take advantage of his presence at the Turkey Diplomatic Forum to carry out “an economic offensive.” The goal is to convince as many investors as possible to invest in Madagascar and support the three pillars of the General Policy of the State (GPS), namely, strengthening human capital, industrialization, and improving governance. Based on a “benchmark” of what is happening in certain African countries, Turkish investors and operators are particularly active in the infrastructure and public works sector. The tenant of Iavoloha intends to convince some of them to come to Madagascar to boost the construction of the new city of Tanamasoandro, or the construction of the Tanjombato and Itaosy Flyovers, as well as other road projects. Commercial cooperation will also be on the agenda. The presidential participation in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum also aligns with the state’s objective to be present at major international events. The one in Turkey has an international reach, even though it is only in its 3rd edition. For example, it was the scene of a meeting between Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Dmytro Kuleba, his Ukrainian counterpart, on March 10, 2022. This was the first high-level talks between Russia and Ukraine since the Russian military incursion into Ukraine on February 26, 2022. A meeting facilitated by Turkey. On the diplomatic front, Andry Rajoelina is expected to, unless there is a change, have a bilateral meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is also hosting the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.
Read the original article(French) on lexpress.mg
