After defence, Turkey and Somalia strike an oil and gas cooperation deal

The latest development in the two countries' growing relationship came on Thursday when the Turkish energy minister said that Turkey and Somalia had achieved an agreement enabling the Horn of Africa country to cooperate on gas and oil.

The accord takes place against the backdrop of Somalia and Ethiopia's conflict over Somaliland, a breakaway province. Last month, Somalia declared that it had also concluded a defense agreement with Turkey that included defense cooperation for Somalia's maritime assets.

According to Turkey, the agreement signed on Thursday covers oil exploration, production, development, and exploitation of "Somalia's onshore and offshore blocks."

“We aim to strengthen Turkey’s presence in the Horn of Africa with these collaborations in the energy field,” Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on X, formerly Twitter.

Somalia’s petroleum and mineral resources ministers, Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, was in Istanbul for the deal.

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Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, the minister of mineral resources and petroleum for Somalia, was in Istanbul for the agreement.

Turkey, which plays a significant role in Somalia, is one of the states vying for influence in a nation on the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, which serves as a route to the Red Sea.

Turkey is required by the defence agreement signed on February 8 to train and equip the Somali navy to effectively defend its territorial waters against dangers like piracy, terrorism, and "foreign interference".

(With agency inputs)