Tuesday June 24, 2025
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan (R) met with Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur (L), Minister of Ports and Marine Transport of the Federal Republic of Somalia. CREDIT / Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey (HOL) — Turkey and Somalia reaffirmed their growing maritime and security partnership on Monday during high-level talks in Ankara between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Somali Minister of Ports and Maritime Transport Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur.
The ministers reviewed ongoing initiatives and discussed expanding cooperation in port infrastructure development, maritime security, and technical training. According to Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both sides underscored their commitment to strengthening trade routes, protecting Somalia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and enhancing the operational capacity of Somalia’s maritime institutions.
Monday’s meeting builds on a series of landmark agreements signed over the past year. In February 2024, the Somali cabinet approved a 10-year defence and economic cooperation pact with Turkey that includes naval training, joint patrols, and revenue-sharing from offshore resource development. That agreement formalized a strategic alliance aimed at safeguarding Somalia’s coastline from piracy, illegal fishing, and regional encroachment.
In June 2024, Turkey and Somalia signed a revenue-sharing agreement granting Ankara 30% of future income from hydrocarbon extraction in Somalia’s EEZ in exchange for technical support and naval defence. The move was widely seen as a counterbalance to Ethiopia’s controversial Memorandum of Understanding with Somaliland, which Somalia declared a violation of its territorial integrity.
Turkey has been a consistent partner in Somalia’s reconstruction since reopening its Mogadishu embassy in 2011. Its development agency, TIKA, has contributed to port upgrades and fisheries development in coastal communities, while Turkish firms—such as Albayrak—have managed Mogadishu’s port and airport for over a decade.
Turkey’s defence footprint in Somalia also includes a major military training base in Mogadishu, known as Camp TURKSOM, where Somali cadets are trained in naval, infantry, and counterinsurgency operations. The base is part of Ankara’s broader effort to expand its influence across the Horn of Africa through a mix of security partnerships, infrastructure investment, and diplomatic mediation.
The Ankara meeting comes amid rising geopolitical competition in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, with Somalia seeking to leverage its strategic coastline through formalized bilateral security arrangements. Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has emerged as the driving force behind the mediation between Somalia and Ethiopia, culminating in the signing of the Ankara Declaration on December 12, 2024, which brought Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed together under Turkish mediation.