Famine killed 29,000 children in
Somalia last year, and Turkey has spearheaded efforts to send aid to the
drought-stricken country and its similarly afflicted neighbors.İstanbul
hosted a conference on Somalia that was attended by UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in May 2010. With Turkey’s call, the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convened at an extraordinary
session on Aug. 17, 2011, and $350 million in aid was collected for
Somalia, the statement noted.A number of senior members of the Turkish
state have visited Somalia, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan, who paid a visit to the Somali capital of Mogadishu last year.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is set to participate in
an international conference on Somalia in London this week. The
conference will discuss the latest political developments in Somalia,
efforts in combating terrorism and piracy as well as international
humanitarian assistance against drought and starvation.