ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) and Turkey have signed framework cooperation agreement ahead of the 2nd International Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum to be held next month in Istanbul, Turkey.

The AU Economic Affairs Commissioner, Victor Harison, and the Turkish Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to AU, Fatih Ulusaoy, signed the agreement at the headquarters of the pan-African bloc here in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, an AU statement said on Thursday.

The 1st edition of the Turkey-Africa Business Forum was held in 2016 in Istanbul with a participation of over 30 African ministers and 2000 Turkish and African businesses, which resulted in an estimated 35-40 million U.S. dollars worth of concrete contracts signed.

Speaking at the signing of the latest agreement, the Turkish ambassador has reiterated the satisfaction of the Turkish authorities on the success of the 1st Forum held two years ago. And the 2nd Forum is projected to mobilize a greater number of African ministries and businesses.

Commending the Turkish government for their continued support, the AU Commissioner noted that Turkey remains one of Africa's top trading partners.

He has called on all African private sector actors to actively participate in the upcoming Africa-Turkey Business Forum which is a great opportunity to actively exchange with their Turkish counterparts.

This year, the Forum will be jointly organized on Oct. 10-11 in Istanbul by the Turkish Ministry of Commerce, the AU Commission and DEiK (foreign economic relation board of Turkey).

The Forum will be addressing the following four sub-themes: infrastructure, construction, manufacturing, tourism and fashion.