Somali women carrying the flags of Somalia and Turkey welcome the opening of a center for a Turkish relief organization in Mogadishu.

(Al Jazeera)

Since October 7, 2023, the Middle East and its surroundings have witnessed several developments.

As Israel deepens the genocide in Gaza, it launches multiple attacks on Iran and its proxies in the region, trying to draw them into the conflict and expand the scope of the war.

In his report published by the Turkish newspaper "Direlish", writer Haider Oruç said that in the midst of all this uncertainty, the strongest opposition to Israel came from the Houthis in Yemen, who demanded an end to Israel's attacks on Gaza, threatening not to allow ships linked to Israel to pass through the Red Sea if they were not... that.

Since mid-November, the Houthis have carried out their threat and launched attacks on ships that they identified as heading to Israel through the Red Sea, which turned the world's attention to this region.

In such an atmosphere, it was announced that the Turkish and Somali Defense Ministers had signed a “Framework Agreement for Defense and Economic Cooperation” in Ankara on February 8, 2024. On the 21st of the same month, it was announced that the Somali Council of Ministers, then Parliament, had approved this agreement.

Now, some analysts are wondering when Turkey will present this agreement to its parliament and put it into effect.

The newspaper report stated that Türkiye's relations with Somalia are not new.

In the most difficult times, Türkiye supported Somalia and made important contributions.

But signing such an agreement, especially at a time when the region is witnessing very heated developments, has raised questions.

Such as: "Why now?"

The writer stated that Turkey's peaceful relations with all actors in the Horn of Africa, which includes: Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti, helped eliminate the threats that these countries faced in the past, as well as solve many emerging problems among them.

When talking about the Turkey-Somalia agreement today, it should not be linked to just one factor, but it can be said that the most important motive is the agreement signed between Ethiopia and the Somaliland region on February 1, 2024.

Somaliland is still part of Somalia, and has not been officially recognized by any country yet, despite its unilateral declaration of independence.

Somalia viewed Ethiopia's agreement with Somaliland to reach the sea instead of Djibouti, where the Ethiopian navy is temporarily anchored, as hostile, which led to Somalia's desire to send a message to its opponent by signing a defense agreement with an actor such as Turkey.

To prevent such a process that might lead to the recognition of Somaliland.

It is believed that this step will make Ethiopia reconsider its decision, and may even push it to conclude a direct agreement with Somalia to access the sea it needs, perhaps with Turkish mediation.

It can also be said that Turkey is a party to this agreement to preserve its interests in the region and protect itself from any sudden events.

Due to developments in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea.

The report indicated that Somalia tried to get rid of its problems and get back on the right track by signing similar agreements with the United States, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia before Turkey, but none of them reached the level of parliamentary approval.

In addition, previous agreements were not as detailed as those concluded with Turkey.

Therefore, the Türkiye-Somalia agreement differs from other agreements.

The writer explained that although the content of the agreement was not officially shared, the information leaked to the media indicates that the agreement initially extends for 10 years.

Terms of the agreement The


agreement includes the following:

– Investing marine resources in the economy.

– Plan and execute joint air and naval operations if necessary to defend the use of these resources.

– Establishing and building ships, ports and facilities and operating them, and establishing the necessary legal regulations for this.

– Coordinating maritime navigation laws between the two countries.

– Taking unilateral and joint measures against all types of threats in areas of maritime jurisdiction;

Such as: terrorism, piracy, looting, illegal fishing, and smuggling.

– Establishing joint and unilateral facilities and establishing security zones.

– Providing educational, religious and equipment support to the Somali army.

– Establishing and managing Coast Guard facilities.

– Developing and modernizing naval forces and preventing marine pollution.

A feverish race for influence in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region (Al Jazeera)

Framework Agreement:


As is clear from its name and content, this agreement is a “framework agreement”, and its details must be completed.

To achieve this, it must be ratified by the Turkish Parliament to enter into force, and then determine what will be done and how it will be done through various agreements.

The report stated that after signing the maritime border demarcation agreement with Libya in 2019, Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding in October 2022 to search and explore for oil and hydrocarbon resources in Libyan territory and the continental shelf.

Therefore, it is possible to implement a similar process with Somalia in the coming days.

The writer pointed out that one thing is certain, which is that, under this agreement, Turkey will become more visible in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean.

Türkiye will also create another country's fleet for the first time from scratch.

In other words, while Turkey will train Somali sailors, it will direct its growing defense industry potential there, to build new ships, defense facilities, ports and perhaps shipyards for Somalia.

Turkey will cooperate with Somalia over a period of 10 years to protect Somali territorial waters from piracy, smuggling, terrorism and poaching, as well as search and exploration for hydrocarbon resources.

The writer explained that Turkey's rapprochement with the countries of Africa is not similar to the Western imperialist countries, which create problems between the countries of the region and push them into conflict, then sell weapons to these countries, exploit their resources, and make them dependent on them. On the contrary, Turkey prefers cooperation in a "mutually beneficial" manner for both parties. .

Of course, Türkiye will also benefit from this process.

As it will strengthen its regional and global position, and become more influential in the global system.

In return, it will also allow its partners to benefit from this cooperation and ensure that they receive their fair share of the prosperity that will be achieved, according to the writer.

Source: Turkish press