On Aug. 19, 2011, then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took a one-day trip to Mogadishu, Somalia. The visit came in response to one of the worst draughts in East Africa, claiming the lives of thousands of people in Somalia as well as Ethiopia. Erdoğan's visit signaled the beginning of a new comprehensive policy on Somalia.Erdoğan visited Mogadishu again recently after three-and-a-half years. Significant progress has been made since 2011. Draught, floods and epidemics have been contained, the Somali airport and seaport have begun working, new hospitals and schools have been opened and a few more countries have opened embassies and diplomatic missions. The Somalis are making a genuine effort to establish state institutions, but they have a long way to go.Security remains weak and the threat of al-Shabab remains real, but terrorist attacks have become less frequent in recent months. The suicide attack on Jan. 22, a day before the date of Erdoğan's visit, had practically no effect on the visit, which took place on Jan. 25 after Erdoğan attended the funeral ceremony of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.Since 2011, Turkey has contributed more than $500 million to Somalia for its humanitarian needs, health, education, infrastructure, security and capacity building. Despite numerous challenges, Turkish nongovernmental organizations and the business community are making significant contributions.In a piece published in Daily Sabah, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia describes Turkey's efforts as "a model of solidarity in tough times." Noting that Somalia is recovering from decades of civil war, incapacity and the failure of international aid programs, he said that "Turkey has shown the way in developing a holistic, on-the-ground partnership with Somalia that has supported us in growing according to a nationally-led and owned agenda."Indeed, this is the framework within which Turkey is supporting Somalia's efforts to make a comeback as a nation. Suffering from the disastrous effects of being a failed state since 1991, Somalia needs support for self-recovery rather than new relations of interdependency. This is what Turkey is seeking to do. In the words of Mohamud: "Turkey has invested in infrastructure, building hospitals, rebuilding destroyed government property and digging wells. It has provided training to our doctors, teachers and civil servants. Turkey has set up more than 1,000 scholarships to enable our young people to study abroad. It has brought in businesses that changed the face of Mogadishu and encouraged its entrepreneurs to come to the city and transform state enterprises, including returning the port and the airport to profitability."It is true that the past initiatives to bring security, stability and prosperity to Somalia have failed. Aware of this fact, Turkey is calibrating its Somalia policy to enable Somalis themselves to recover. In this sense, "Turkey did not hold back, waiting for stability before it invested. Instead, it invested to achieve it. Where other international partners chose to plan their interventions from elsewhere, Turkey put its people on the ground in Somalia to maximize the efficient use of their human and planning resources in support of their financial resources."As Abukar Arman, the former Somali special envoy to the U.S., says, this plan has paid off and "within an incredibly short period of time, Erdoğan's plan resuscitated Somalia from near death. Nothing illustrates that fact more than the profound impact that the Turkish aid model has had on the average internally displaced person in Somalia."Turkey is determined to help Somalia, but is also fully aware of the challenges lying ahead. The central government remains weak for three main reasons. The first is the traditional role of powerful clans in the country, which renders the work of the government and the president hard. The second is the security threat posed by groups such as al-Shabab, though there is progress on this. The third is the status of Somaliland and Puntland and the future of the government structure in the country. Currently, Turkey is facilitating talks between Mogadishu and Somaliland.A strong and functioning central government is key to addressing these three pressing issues as well as other challenges in the areas of infrastructure, housing, sanitation, energy, health and education. Somalia has huge potential for agriculture and a coastal economy but cannot realize it with its current capacities. For instance, Somalia is probably the only country in the world that deals with draught and floods at the same time.Turkey's efforts to help Somalia have created new spaces of friendship and cooperation between the people of Turkey and Somalia. The Somali diaspora, scattered in various countries in Africa, Europe and the U.S., is particularly appreciative of the role Turkey is playing. Some of the well-educated Somali diaspora are now returning to serve their people and country and acknowledge Turkeytarget="_blank"'>