Your answer was good but did not address as to why Africans and Asians are warming up to Turkey's involvement in developing their countries in the same way they do with the Chinese. The answer lies more in GEO-ECONOMICS which in turn has paved way for GEO-POLITICS . First of all unlike Riyadh, Ankara has undergone tremendous domestic change in the past decade, an arguably more significant shift is Turkey's emergence as an economic power. Since 1990, Turkey's gross domestic product has quadrupled, exports have grown by a factor of five, foreign direct investment by a factor of 45, and the value of traded stocks by a factor of 50. While economists have increasingly begun to issue warning flags regarding Turkey's current accounts deficit and risks of overheating, such concerns have yet to translate into the political field. It is only natural that Turkey's newly found economic clout would translate into more self-confidence on the international scene. Turkey's "rediscovery" is part and parcel of this: Turkish exports are looking for new markets, and hordes of businessmen regularly accompany Turkish leaders on their numerous visits to Africa, Middle East, Asia and beyond. Given the close ties between politics and business in the region, closer political ties provide Turkish businessmen with preferential treatment. Secondly, alleged Western mistakes are often viewed as an important factor in this transformation—including the view of former U.S. secretary of defense Robert Gates who blamed the EU's cold shouldering of Turkey for the country's "drift." While Ankara sided with Western states in major foreign policy issues in the past, this relationship was based on perceived reciprocity. However, since Turkey began negotiating for EU accession in 2005, opposition to Turkish membership not only grew in Europe but became ever more clearly articulated in terms of Ankara's cultural identity: Was Turkey in fact European at all? Overt calls by French and German politicians against Turkish accession had a profound impact in Ankara where politicians of all stripes denounced this stance. Most Turks now believe that Ankara will never join the EU, and internal support for membership has dwindled. Europe's alienation from Turkey has clearly had foreign policy implications. While the Saudis were quick to defend Mubarak and the Tunisian dictator, Ankara was an early cheerleader for the Egyptian revolution: Erdoğan called on Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak to resign, making him the first world leader to do so. And if Ankara was unequivocal on Egypt, Libya proved more complicated. When violence in Libya escalated, the Turkish leadership refrained from taking a clear stance. In fact, Erdoğan and Davutoğlu initially opposed U.N. sanctions on the Qaddafi regime and rejected calls for a NATO operation in the developing civil war. Erdoğan, Gül, and Davutoğlu cast doubt on Western motives, referring to "hidden agendas" and the West's thirst for oil resources (which almost every one agrees) Ankara eventually relented when some of its reservations were taken into account and later approved the NATO operation, calling for Qaddafi's resignation formally withdrawing its ambassador from Tripoli and recognizing the Transitional Council. We never saw Saudi influence in that sphere. Now coming to Africa, which is of great interest to superpowers around the world (except Saudi's of course). So far Turkey has built hospitals and Schools and upgraded existing ones, improved access to safe drinking water, repaired damaged roads and started work on the construction of an international airport. In March, Turkish Airlines began regular flights to Mogadishu, the first direct connection to Europe since 1991;. Turkish aid to Somalis since early 2011, both in cash and in-kind, is now estimated to be well in excess of $350 million. here what i found on the google when i searched "Turkish investnment in Somalia": Turkey and the Horn of Africa: Emerging Interests and Relations http://www.internationalpolicydigest...and-relations/ Turkey set to heavily invest in Somalia http://somalilandpress.com/worldnews...est-in-somalia Turkey begins training 120 Somalis in Technical and Trades Innovation http://somalilandpress.com/africa/31...des-innovation IN PICTURES: Turkey begins training Somali forces http://somalilandpress.com/africa/31...-somali-forces IN PICTURES: Turkey makes progress in Somalia http://somalilandpress.com/africa/32...ogress-somalia Turkey takes lead in rebuilding Somalia http://www.ganjab.com/bus/?p=497 http://www.ganjab.com/bus/?p=502 Somalia – Ready to do Business http://www.ganjab.com/bus/?p=512 http://somalilandpress.com/index.php?s=turkish MEB3 and Turkish Airlines grow in Africa at Europe’s big airlines’ expense The Gulf carriers (the ‘MEB3’) and Turkish Airlines are on a clear expansion course in Sub-Saharan Africa, while Europe’s big airlines seem to rearrange their networks to the African continent The biggest growth in absolute terms comes from Turkish Airlines, which has launched new non-stop flights to Accra, Dar Es Salaam, Kinshasa and Kigali. Turkish Airlines has also boosted its operations to Khartoum, Lagos and Johannesburg by 30-40%. Where are the Saudis? well no where...