Hiiraan Online
Thursday, June 2, 2016
MOGADISHU (HOL) – Somalia’s government has beefed up security across Somali capital for the planned visit by the Turkish president Raccep Tayyib Erdogan who will stop by Mogadishu on the last leg of his East Africa trip on Friday.
Mr. Erdoğan who arrived in Kenya late on Wednesday night after a brief visit to Uganda is expected to arrive in Mogadishu for his third visit to the city for a short visit to hold talks with Somali leaders, and open the new embassy in Mogadishu, the largest Turkish embassy around the world.
Hundreds of soldiers from Somali government and African Union forces have been deployed across the city one day after an Al Shabab attack on a hotel in Mogadishu killed at least 18 people including two of the country’s legislators. 40 others were injured during the siege which lasted more than 12 hours.
Referred as a ‘hero’ by many in Somalia, Erdogan’s who became the first non-African leader to visit Mogadishu last year has long advocated for a greater support for the impoverished horn of Africa nation which is recovering from decades of war.
The Turkish government had spent more than $500 million in humanitarian and development aid to Somalia after a devastating famine hit the country in 2013, making it the largest recipient of Turkish aid in Africa.
The Turkish government also continues to undertake major projects in Somalia in a bid to jump-start the Somali economy shattered by the decades old conflict.
Turkey is a major ally for Somalia as it became the first non-African administrations to resume formal diplomatic relations with Somalia since 1991 after warlords overthrew the central government.