Erdogan begins East African tour Tuesday

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will embark on a four-day, two-country visit to East Africa Tuesday, a statement from the Presidential Press Office said on Monday.

Erdogan will first visit Uganda on Wednesday, and then travel to Kenya on Thursday and Friday.

The statement said that Erdogan will meet with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The first leg of the Turkish president's Sub-Saharan African tour was in Senegal in February.

In April, he continued in West Africa with visits to Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, and Guinea.

During his latest visits to Africa, Erdogan vowed to boost Turkish-African relations.

When Erdogan was prime minister, Ankara declared 2005 the Year of Africa. Turkey was accorded observer status by the Africa Union, and Turkey’s official policy of “opening to Africa” gained new momentum.