Turkey is expected to deploy warships off the coast of Somalia to protect an offshore oil exploration operation under a deal signed with Mogadishu.
2 min
With our correspondent in Ankara, Anne Andlauer
Turkish warships off the coast of Somalia? This is the meaning of a motion tabled by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Turkish Parliament and whose adoption is hardly in doubt. This initiative follows an agreement on economic and defense cooperation concluded between the Türkiye and Somalia in February.
The motion presented to the Turkish parliament authorizes the head of state to deploy armed forces for two years in Somaliaparticularly in its territorial waters. According to the text of the motion, it responds to a request from the Somali government and should help it fight ” against terrorism and other threats ” and refers directly to the defense agreement signed in February. Under the agreement, Turkey, a NATO member and close ally of Somalia, will help it defend its coastline and rebuild its naval forces.
According to Turkish media, the warships could also be tasked with protecting the ships of the state-owned oil company (TPAO). As part of an agreement signed on July 18 between Ankara and Mogadishu, Turkey will indeed conduct natural gas and oil exploration missions in Somali waters by deploying “ end of September or beginning of October » his research vessel Oruç Reis.
According to Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, an agreement ” hydrocarbon exploration and production ” was signed between the two countries, providing for drilling in three areas of 5000 km2 each. ” Turkey will have an exclusive license to explore and produce oil here, when, inshallah, we find it “, added the minister.
Turkey’s ties with Somalia have evolved over the past 13 years from humanitarian support to a close economic and security partnership. Somalia already hosts Turkey’s largest military base abroad.