Osman sultan Erdogan at work!
Reminder: Turkey is a NATO member!
"... Turkey's parliament approved a motion to deploy its naval forces to Somalia as it seeks to implement deals signed in early 2024 that will make Turkey the main security force in Somali waters over the next two years as it builds the Somali Navy’s capacity. Somalia likely intends to use its partnership with Turkey to counter Ethiopia’s controversial port agreement with the de facto independent breakaway Somaliland region. Turkey’s growing influence in Somalia is a major economic and geopolitical gain for Turkey that could jeopardize its ties with Ethiopia and shape the Turkish-Emirati rivalry in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa. ...
Somali forces have minimal naval capabilities, which will make Somalia dependent on Turkish forces and presumably Turkish-supplied assets as part of the cooperation. ..."
Turkey has been a major partner in Somalia since the early 2010s. Turkey established its first African military base in Mogadishu in 2017 to help train and arm the elite Haramcad and Gorgor special force units, which play important roles in the fight against al Shabaab. Between 2011 and 2022, Turkey provided $1 billion in aid for projects in the health and education sectors, municipal services, and infrastructure projects, landing Turkey middle on the list of providers of official direct aid to Somalia. Turkey and Somalia have grown even closer in 2024 with the signing of a gas and oil cooperation deal in Istanbul in March that expands the February 2024 economic-military agreement. The March deal gives the state-owned company Turkish Petroleum exploration and production rights off the coast of Somalia. Somali and Turkish officials have also held at least four high-level meetings in 2024.
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