WHY DRC-Türkiye trade push carries weight after Antalya talks

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Türkiye agreed in Antalya to raise bilateral trade from about $200 million to $500 million in the medium term, giving fresh momentum to a partnership both governments say they want to deepen.

The commitment came after talks on April 18 between President Félix Tshisekedi and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

Why this matters is not just the size of the target, but what it says about the direction of the relationship. A higher trade goal usually points to broader cooperation in business, logistics, and state-to-state coordination, especially when both sides also say they want to reactivate a joint commission that can turn political promises into follow-up meetings and sector deals aa cited by Okapi.

The Antalya meeting also builds on an earlier base. In 2022, Kinshasa and Ankara signed multiple cooperation agreements during Erdoğan’s visit to the DRC, covering areas such as security, transport, infrastructure and the economy.

That earlier round of agreements helps explain why both governments now present trade expansion as the next step rather than a new starting point.

The setting matters too. The fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum is being held from April 17 to 19, 2026, under the theme “Mapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties,” bringing together leaders and diplomats to discuss political, economic and regional issues.

For Kinshasa, using that forum to push trade and revive the bilateral commission shows that the DRC wants diplomacy to deliver practical economic results, not only political visibility.