Somalia president: Turkey is a country we can trust

MOGADISHU, Somalia - President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud lauded Turkey as a 'country we can trust ' just after celebrating a security agreement with the Middle Eastern nation, which has traditionally supported Somalia, a country struggling with instability for the last three decades.

In February, Hassan Sheikh penned a defense agreement with Turkey that would see Ankara protecting the 3,333 kilometers of coastline, which is under threat from Ethiopia. The government of Ethiopia had signed an agreement with the breakaway region of Somaliland for 20 kilometers of the Red Sea.

But Somalia, in the quest to defend her territorial integrity and sovereignty, reached out to Turkey, giving birth to the agreement, whose implementation is on course. Turkey would provide security in exchange for oil exploration in Somalia.

The relationship between the two countries, he said, provided an avenue for a secure and stable Somalia, which would in the long run trigger economic growth recovery after years of internal wrangles and terrorism, which have severely impeded development.

"The government of our brothers in Turkey, with whom this agreement is made, is a country and people we know, who have shown us support many times. It is a friendly and brotherly country in which we can trust this important cooperation for the defense of our nationalism and territorial unity," he said.

Hassan Sheikh had joined the Turkish ambassador and a host of government officials in receiving the Kınalıada Corvette, which docked at Mogadishu Port on Tuesday in honor of Türkiye's National Sovereignty and Children's Day.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reiterated Türkiye's unwavering support for Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He emphasized the deep historical ties between the two nations, stating on his X (formerly Twitter), "The historical relations between our two countries now point to a unity of destiny."

Plans to start oil exploration in Somalia’s coastline are underway, with the government insisting that the move would positively impact economic development in the Horn of Africa nation. Turkey also trains elite GorGor troops.

For the past few years, GorGor soldiers have played a key role in the elimination of Al-Shabab from Somalia, in close partnership with the US Africa Command and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) soldiers, who have been around for almost two decades on peacebuilding.

GAROWE ONLINE