Among all the African countries, Somalia represents the most evident example of Turkish strategy and pragmatism on the continent.

The origin of the relationship between the two countries dates back to 2011, the year in which Erdoğan visited a Mogadishu devastated by famine and war with the Islamist militia al-Shabaab, the only non-African leader to visit the country in almost twenty years.
The visit of the Turkish president accelerated the operations of Tika, the Turkish cooperation agency, Ankara’s Trojan horse on the African continent. Tika’s humanitarian missions paved the way for the opening of the largest Turkish embassy in Africa in 2016.
A move with which Ankara began to influence the country’s political agenda and which allowed it to achieve concrete results. In just a few years, Turkey managed to bring annual trade from zero to 280 million dollars, restructured, reopened and managed ports and airports, but also schools and universities and opened a huge health centre that bears Erdoğan’s name.The reopening of the University of Mogadishu has also allowed scholarships to be awarded to local university students. The latter, including the son of President Sheikh Mohamud, go to study in Turkey, learn the language, develop a direct connection with the country and then become the Somali ruling class of the future.

In 2017, Turkey opened a large military base in the capital Mogadishu. 123rf

Turkish projection in Somalia also involves military support, which has become essential even in the face of the failures recorded in this respect by the African Union (AU) and its various missions in the country. In 2017, Turkey opened a large military base in the capital Mogadishu, where it is estimated that more than 16,000 men have been trained, a third of the Somali army.
The training programs have served to protect Turkish interests in the area, allowing Ankara to have a military base on the continent, but have been blessed by the Somali government, now capable of removing al-Shabaab from the capital without waiting for the AU’s decisions. For this reason, former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre thanked Erdoğan for “having rebuilt the army from the ground up”.
In 2022, another turning point: the TB2 Bayraktar drones began to strike al-Shabaab. After being used for control purposes, it was Mohamud himself who asked for their offensive use. While waiting to understand if, or rather when, Erdoğan will keep his promise to supply war jets to Somalia, it should be emphasised that the alliance between the two countries has allowed Ankara to get its hands on the energy resources off the coast of Somali waters.

Yavuz Turkish Drillship. The ship is owned by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO). Turkish ships can now carry out hydrocarbon exploration activities in a 5,000 square kilometre sea area. 123rf

A year ago, the Turkish State Energy Company (TPAO) signed cooperation protocols with the Somali Petroleum Authority. Turkish ships can now carry out hydrocarbon exploration activities in a 5,000 square kilometre sea area. Drilling began in recent months, but is set to continue for years. US government reports estimate the hydrocarbon reserves in the area at 30 million barrels. Interests that, once again, must be defended. Hence the second memorandum of understanding with which Turkey now commits to training the coast guard and navy, patrolling and countering ‘piracy, terrorism and any type of threat’ for the next 10 years. The icing on the cake came last year, when Mohamud announced that Turkey has begun building a space platform for launching satellites in eastern Somalia. The Turkish space plan was Erdogan’s idea, who knows he can count on Somalia to achieve his goals. (Two butterflies with flags of Somalia and Turkey. 123rf)

Giuseppe di Donna