Türkiye and Somalia are looking to train diplomats and expand their knowledge base as they increase bilateral cooperation.
Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi met with Mesut Özcan, the director of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye, in the capital of Mogadishu late Monday.
The two sides discussed enhancing cooperation in the areas of diplomatic training.
After the meeting, a statement issued by the Somali Foreign Ministry said the discussions also delved into fortifying the relationship between the Turkish academy and the Somali Diplomatic Institute, with a “view to elevating the partnership and fostering a robust exchange of experiences and best practices.”
It said Fiqi expressed profound gratitude to Türkiye for its steadfast support of Somalia.
According to the ministry’s statement, Ankara has trained more than 80 Somali diplomats over the past 15 years.
Somalia and Türkiye developed their close friendship in 2011 after President (then Prime Minister) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the country, the first non-African leader to do so in over 20 years.
Türkiye has strong historical ties with Somalia on the principle of “win-win” relations, including more than 150 development aid projects carried out by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) since 2011.
Türkiye has its largest embassy in Africa in Mogadishu and built its largest overseas military facility there to train the Somali National Army. Humanitarian organizations helped avert a famine in 2022 when Somalia witnessed one of the worst droughts in four decades. A pair of Turkish and Somali companies are building a biogas power plant in Mogadishu, which will be completed by the end of this year.
Ankara recently stepped in as a mediator between Somalia and Ethiopia regarding a port deal Ethiopia signed with the self-declared Republic of Somaliland earlier this year.
Türkiye has also provided training, assistance and advisory support to Somalia for over 10 years. In February, Somalia’s Cabinet approved a defense and economic pact with Türkiye.
Last month, Parliament approved the deployment of Turkish troops in Somalia for two years to support security against terrorism and other threats under the agreement.
The motion that passed at Parliament said Turkish military support is to help Somali defense and security forces which “have not reached the desired level due to economic challenges.”
The Somali government wants to control maritime areas and integrate resources into the economy to enhance the capacity of its security forces and other state institutions.
The goal aligns with the Somali Security Sector Development Plan, which was adopted at the Somalia Security Conference co-hosted by Türkiye in New York on Dec. 12, 2023. The plan aims for Somalia to take full responsibility for its security in the near future.
