Turkey and the G-20 Presidency: Implications for LIDCs and Africa

This policy brief analyzes Turkey's 2015 G-20 presidency, focusing on its priorities of inclusiveness, investment, and implementation, and their implications for Africa and low-income developing countries (LIDCs). The authors argue that while Turkey has expanded its diplomatic and economic engagement with Africa through a 'bottom-up' approach, the G-20's institutional framework remains problematic due to the underrepresentation of African nations and a disconnect between its finance and development tracks.

• Turkey's 2015 G-20 presidency is centered on three primary priorities: inclusiveness, investment, and implementation, with a specific cross-cutting focus on low-income developing countries (LIDCs) and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• Turkey has significantly expanded its engagement with Africa since 2002, increasing its diplomatic missions from 12 to 34 by 2013 and raising official development assistance from $73 million in 2002 to $3.3 billion in 2013. Africa is now the top recipient of this aid at 33.7%.
• Turkey's approach to Africa is characterized as 'bottom-up' and lacks a strong institutional framework, having relied heavily on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and conservative business networks before establishing official development aid.
• African representation in the G-20 is considered inadequate, as South Africa is the only member state from the continent. African policymakers are generally excluded from the working groups and ministerial meetings where policy formulation occurs prior to leaders' summits.
• The G-20's development agenda is hindered by a structural separation between the Sherpa's Track (where development issues like food security and infrastructure are discussed) and the finance track, rendering-|+"finance track", which prevents developmental discussions from becoming concrete policies.
• Turkey has attempted to integrate LIDCs into the G-20 finance agenda for the first time, including three references to LIDCs in a finance communiqué regarding BEPS issues and infrastructure investment.
• To facilitate private infrastructure investment in Africa, Turkey has worked toward establishing infrastructure as an asset-asset class, which could allow the securitization of assets не не1. This could potentially channel African1. African diaspora remittances, which totaled $32 billion in 2013, into these assets.
• New G-20 financial regulations, specifically anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer rules, may negatively impact trade financing in Africa because the high cost of due diligence for low-volume companies acts as a disincentive for banks.

APA

Sahbaz, U., & Inan, F. (2015). Turkey and the G-20 Presidency: Implications for LIDCs and Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Insights-19.pdf

Chicago

Sahbaz, Ussal, and Feride Inan. Turkey and the G-20 Presidency: Implications for LIDCs and Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Insights-19.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sahbaz |first1=Ussal |last2=Inan |first2=Feride |title=Turkey and the G-20 Presidency: Implications for LIDCs and Africa |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=19 June 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Insights-19.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sahbaz2015turkey, author = {Sahbaz, Ussal and Inan, Feride}, title = {{Turkey and the G-20 Presidency: Implications for LIDCs and Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Insights-19.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }