Turkish aid agency cheers Africa's interest in Turkey

The head of Turkey's state aid agency praises Africa's "great interest" in Turkey.

Serdar Cam, head of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), joined the delegation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who arrived on Wednesday in Johannesburg to attend the BRICS summit.

"We are getting a great interest and affinity [in Africa] which we try to reciprocate," Cam told Anadolu Agency.

Speaking about ongoing projects of TIKA on the African continent, Cam said that TIKA is in the process of opening a new office in Zambia.

Stating that the fate of Somalia changed after Erdogan visited the country in 2011, Cam said that TIKA will continue to carry projects into effect.

Speaking about the TIKA's works, which are carried out across the continent, Cam recalled the first office of the agency which was opened in Ethiopia in 2005.

Cam said that various projects were implemented through the nearly 25 offices across the continent.

"In every field, including agriculture, health, husbandry, education, strengthening infrastructure and government capacity, we are sharing all these experiences of our state," he said.

Cam said that Turkey's cooperation with African countries will increase and TIKA will continue to support development projects there.

Speaking about the fight against Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) -- the group behind the defeated coup attempt of July 2016 -- Cam said that Turkey is fighting the terrorist organization effectively with its institutions.

"Our institutions like TIKA, Maarif Foundation, Yunus Emre and YTB are working to contribute positively to this process by actively doing good work against this treacherous organization (FETÖ) which deceived the world for many years on the field," he said.

Established in 1992, Turkey's government-run aid agency is responsible for implementing Turkey's developmental cooperation policies overseas. The agency carries out development cooperation activities in 170 countries via its 62 program coordination offices in 59 countries across five continents.