A senior official from the Arab League hailed the cooperation between Turkey and African countries, describing Turkey as "an important player in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East."

"Cooperation between Turkey and Africa is a necessity historically, geographically, politically and culturally. Turkey, right on our doorstep, is a very important country for us," Jean Ping, chairman of the Arab League Commission, told the A.A on Tuesday on the sidelines of an Istanbul summit on relations between Turkey and African countries.

Ping said the African continent should not be viewed as "a problem but rather an opportunity."

"The population of the continent is expected to stand at 1.4 billion, a market which you cannot afford to ignore," the commission chairman said.