Turkey to build Somalia’s embassy in Ankara

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Turkey is set to build a $6 million embassy in Ankara, which will house the Somalia embassy, in a deal that has been submitted in the Turkish Parliament, as a show of smooth ties with the Horn of Africa nation, which is struggling with instability.

The agreement, signed in 2022 between Somalia and Turkey, Ankara made the sacrifice about Mogadishu's decision to decision to donate a plot to the government of Turkey in 2015, following blossoming bilateral ties between the two countries.

The diplomatic mission Turkey built on that plot in Mogadishu was its largest worldwide, covering an area of more than 61,000 sqm for $65m. In return, Somalia is getting 4,918 sqm of land in the Incek diplomatic site in Ankara.

After building, Somalia will be at liberty to sell both the land and the house in the future if it so wishes, the Middle East Eye reports. Sozcu, the largest opposition daily newspaper, ran a front-page report on Tuesday titled: "There is no saving from the love of Somalia".

The report highlighted the irony of the government constructing an embassy for Somalia while cutting funding for numerous domestic projects and services under austerity measures.

"They say there is austerity in the public sector, but they spend lavishly," the newspaper said. "The government, which could not find money to raise the salaries of millions of retirees and minimum-wage earners, donated [valuable land] in Ankara to Somalia."

According to circulation, the land cost $6.5m. One source emphasized that the land donated to Turkey in Somalia is 12 times more extensive and in a prime location in Mogadishu.

Somalia-Turkey bilateral relations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has invested heavily in Somalia since 2011, providing more than $1bn in humanitarian aid in response to a deadly drought.

Turkey has one of the largest overseas military bases in Somalia, which also trains the elite GorGor troops, who are critical in the fight against Al-Shabaab. The government of Turkey is also a crucial development partner of Somalia for over a decade.

GAROWE ONLINE