Relations between Ankara and Mogadishu have gained a strategic dimension through cooperation in fields such as security and energy in recent years, Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ali Mohamed Omar said.
“We value our relations with Türkiye. This is a brotherly relationship based on partnership. Although the first cooperation dates back to the Ottoman period, a new page was opened in ties with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit during the height of the famine in the country in 2011,” Omar told Daily Sabah.
Cooperation, which was centered mostly around humanitarian aid, agriculture and education, soon developed into more strategic fields.
“With investment made in the energy sector, our relations have strengthened. Our cooperation has gained a more strategic dimension,” Omar added.
Last summer, Ankara and Mogadishu inked an agreement on hydrocarbon exploration and production. Türkiye then dispatched its domestically developed seismic research vessel to Somalia to begin seismic surveys for oil and natural gas in three licensed maritime jurisdictions later in the year.
“Between Türkiye and Somalia, there is also cooperation to consolidate Mogadishu’s security infrastructure. Türkiye is experienced in the fight against terrorism. There are things we have to learn from Ankara. Besides, Türkiye also helps in building Somalia’s armed forces,” the minister continued, indicating that Ankara supports Mogadishu in tackling al-Shabab.
Türkiye’s biggest overseas military training base, which was inaugurated in 2017, is located in Somalia and is also among the largest foreign-run military centers in the country.
Omar also touched upon the mediation efforts of Türkiye, led by Erdoğan, in long-standing disagreements between Somalia and Ethiopia.
“As Ethiopia and Somalia, we are neighbors and have to have good relations. Yet, historically, we had challenges. Thanks to Türkiye’s mediation, we had the chance to smooth problems,” Omar said.
As part of the Ankara Declaration, he indicated that the trilateral format might come together again at the end of this month.
Land-locked Ethiopia's desire for access to the sea had deepened long-standing grievances between the two neighbors. Somalia was outraged when Ethiopia signed a deal one year ago with its breakaway region of Somaliland, reportedly to recognize its independence in exchange for a port and military base on the Red Sea.
“This problem had been continuing for many years and there were obstacles in discussing it face to face. Erdoğan has made this possible,” he added.
Türkiye stepped in to mediate last July, holding three previous rounds of talks – two in Ankara and one in New York – before December's breakthrough, which won praise from the African Union, Washington and Brussels.
According to the Ethiopia-Somalia Ankara Declaration, the two parties decided to launch technical negotiations facilitated by Türkiye by the end of February 2025 and conclude them within four months. They also agreed to abandon differences of opinion and contentious issues and to move decisively toward shared prosperity.
