Somalia

Turkey hopes to conduct a deep-sea oil drilling operation off the Somali coast in 2025, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Friday in an interview on broadcaster NTV.

Turkey and Somalia signed an offshore oil and natural gas cooperation deal last month, further strengthening ties after agreeing a defence deal this year. [Reuters]

Türkiye and Somalia inked a defense agreement on Feb. 8, aimed at bolstering military cooperation and strengthening ties.

The Defense and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement was formalized during an official visit by Somali Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur to Ankara, where he met with his Turkish counterpart, Yaşar Güler.

A multipolar world, subject to new predominant threats and global divisions, arises from the distribution of military and economic power and new agreements for providing military facilities to foreign countries.

Somalis anxiously waited to know the fate of their missing relatives on Sunday as emergency workers attempted to clear debris after a deadly 30-hour siege by Al-Shabaab jihadists at a hotel in the capital Mogadishu.

Somalia's president on July 6 called for assistance from Türkiye to combat the effects of severe drought that is threatening the Horn of Africa.

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made the comments during his first visit to Türkiye since returning to office following an election in May. The two countries have forged close ties over the past decade.

Somalia has announced it had awarded licences to two foreign banks, including Türkiye's participatin bank Ziraat Katılım, as the nation opens up the industry to international lenders.

Ziraat Katılım and state-owned Banque Misr of Egypt and will become the first international banks to operate in the country, Somalia's Central Bank said in a statement.

Turkey welcomed a decision by the Somali parliament on May 1 that would see elections held in the Horn of Africa nation as soon as possible.

"We welcome the decision of the Lower House of the Somali Parliament today [1 May], which endorses holding the elections on the basis of the 17 September agreement as soon as possible," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Turkey on March 24 voiced concern over the election impasse in Somalia, calling on stakeholders to resolve their disputes through constructive dialogue.

Turkey on Feb. 21 expressed concern over unrest in Somalia as tension rises due to delayed elections in the country.

"We are concerned about the recent negative developments arising from the dispute over the election process in Somalia," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

A motion calling for the extension of Turkish forces' deployment in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia and the Arabian Sea until Feb. 10, 2022 was published in Turkey's Official Gazette early on Jan. 28.