Guinea–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Guinea and Turkey. Guinea opened its embassy in Ankara and Turkey opened its embassy in Conakry in 2013.
Diplomatic relations
In 1958, Guinea became the only French sub-Saharan African colony to vote for independence.Adebajo, Adekeye, and Ismail Rashid. West Africa's Security Challenges: Building Peace in a Troubled Region. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 2004. Guinea’s last colonial prime minister Touré became the first President of Guinea after campaigning for a vote for independence.Nwaubani, Ebere. The United States and Decolonization in West Africa, 1950–1990. Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press, 2001 95% of the population voted for independence, which earned Touré the enmity of the French president de Gaulle. The French withdrew immediately, taking with them everything they could and destroying what they could not, including lightbulbs, plans for sewage pipelines in Conakry. The French even burned medicines rather than leaving them for Guineans, leaving Guinea as one of the world's poorest, least developed, and most isolated countries.
France even forcefully threatened NATO partners Turkey and United StatesMorrow, John H. First American Ambassador to Guinea. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1968. — that if Turkey or the United States were to provide any assistance to Guinea or establish any trade relations, de Gaulle was prepared to leave NATO. Following this ultimate, President Eisenhower refused to even acknowledge Guinea's requests for foreign aid. Turkey denounced de Gaulle's as extreme but refrained from providing assistance to Guinea.
After being snubbed by NATO countries for financial aid, Touré predictably turned to the Soviet Union for economic assistance. Until the end of the Cold War, Turkey had limited diplomatic relations with Guinea.
Economic relations Trade volume between the two countries was US$136.7 million in 2019. There are direct flights from Istanbul to Conakry since January 30, 2017.
Educational relations
Turkish Maarif Foundation is currently running 5 schools in Guinea. Turkey has been granting scholarships to Guinean students since 1992.
See also
Foreign relations of Guinea Foreign relations of Turkey
References
Further reading Adebajo, Adekeye, and Ismail Rashid. West Africa's Security Challenges: Building Peace in a Troubled Region. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 2004. Morrow, John H. First American Ambassador to Guinea. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1968. Nwaubani, Ebere. The United States and Decolonization in West Africa, 1950–1990. Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press, 2001