By Özgür Ekşi
The constantly developing political, economic and military relations between the two countries since 2011 are evolving to a new stage with the signing of the “Defence and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement”. According to the Agreement, Turkiye, a comprehensive military base in Mogadishu, will protect Somali territorial waters for ten years and contribute to developing maritime resources.
The Agreement was signed in response to the Agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland, which was trying to secede from Somalia to establish a naval base. With this Agreement, Turkiye aims to be a part of the solution to one of the most critical problems of the region called the Horn of Africa.
Somalia is experiencing problems in the fight against some radical organizations such as Al-Shabab, which is on the world’s list of “terrorist organizations”. Turkiye made significant infrastructure investments in the fields of education, health and economy to revive Somalia with the aid that started in 2011 and took military training and cooperation steps to enable the country to “fight against terrorism”.
Turkiye has a large military base known as TÜRKSOM in Mogadishu. Somali Turkish Task Force Command has been serving at this base since 2017. The Turkish Embassy, the Turkish military base and many other institutions built and operated by Turkiye are among the targets of the Al-Shabab organization from time to time.
Defence Ministers of the two countries, Yaşar Güler and Abdulkadir Muhammed Nur signed the Defence and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. Turkish officials noted that Somalia requested the Agreement.
Güler stated they were determined to strengthen bilateral military cooperation further and said, “I wholeheartedly believe that the Defence and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement we signed today will lead to the further development of our bilateral military relations.” The importance of this signature between Turkiye and Somalia was understood when the Somali government approved the Agreement on February 21, then signed and entered into force by President Hasan Sheikh Mahmud on February 22, and the content of the Agreement was made public.
According to the Anadolu Agency, President Mahmud answered journalists’ questions; the Agreement signed with Turkiye covers cooperation in Somalia on issues such as combating terrorism, external threats, piracy and illegal fishing, and protecting the coasts and developing marine resources.
Announcing that a joint naval force would be established between the two countries, Mahmud stated that these forces would protect Somali waters for ten years and contribute to developing maritime resources. President Mahmud noted that the Agreement did not have a hostile purpose towards Ethiopia or any other country and also gave a clue as to how this step taken between Turkiye and Somalia was perceived in the region.
For the Agreement to be implemented, it must be approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly and published in the Official Gazette with the signature of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Agreement has not yet been sent to the Parliament by the Turkish side.
Source of tension in the region: Access to the sea
The timing of the Agreement between Somalia and Turkiye and the most crucial reason why Somalia ratified and entered into force the Agreement without delay is the Agreement signed by its neighbour Ethiopia on January 1 with Somaliland, which is a part of Somali territory according to international law but has developed its own autonomous government in the last 30 years.
According to the Agreement announced to the public as a bilateral cooperation protocol, Ethiopia, which does not have a coast on the Red Sea, will be able to use Somaliland’s Berbera Port. It is also stated that Ethiopia will have access to a rented military base in accordance with the Agreement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Somaliland, which is not recognized by any country, announced in a statement that “20 km of sea access will be provided to the Ethiopian navy in return for a lease agreement that will last for 50 years.” The Agreement, to which Somalia reacted harshly, was received coldly by the international community because it would increase tension in the Red Sea. Turkiye also announced in its written statement on January 4 that it viewed the Agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland with concern.
Somali Defence Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur explained the Agreement signed with Turkiye by writing an article for Anadolu Agency. Nur said that with this Agreement, “The work to end Al-Shabaab, the most vibrant branch of Al-Qaeda, which threatens Somalia, the states of the region and the whole world, will accelerate.”
Nur explained the relations between the two countries by saying, “When it comes to Turkiye, Somalis from different walks of life and views do not hesitate to look at it from the same perspective” and added, “In other words, the issue of relations with Turkiye is now a non-partisan, non-negotiable issue for Somalia.”
Minister Nur stated that the Agreement will protect the interests of the international community in terms of geopolitics and said, “As can be seen in the example of Yemen, Somalia’s geopolitical position and the political processes revolving around this position are the keys to the prosperity and peace of the whole world.”
With the Agreement, Somali naval forces will be revived. Within the scope of this Agreement, Turkiye will strive to establish a competent and self-sufficient Somali Naval Force. Somali naval forces will regain control of the Somali seas, which was lost after the civil war. Thus, Somali sailors will eradicate all kinds of national and international illegal activities such as poaching, piracy and similar activities in Somali territorial waters. Al-Shabaab, which has opened logistics routes for itself thanks to these uncontrolled sea areas, will also come to an end.
According to the Minister’s statement, the Agreement will enable the diversification and development of resources obtained from the Somali Exclusive Economic Zone, which hosts Somalia’s marine resources. The Agreement aims to ensure the security of the Somali Exclusive Economic Zone in every sense with the help of Turkiye. Additionally, Turkiye’s technical capacity is expected to guide Somalia.
It seems that thanks to the assurances given by Turkiye, Somalia will dominate the seas, Ethiopia will open to the seas, and the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab will come to an end. The success of this project will be a new initiative that Turkiye will bring to Africa.
