ANKARA — Turkey and Somalia signed an offshore energy cooperation agreement on Thursday, setting the stage for a deepening of Ankara’s presence in the Horn of Africa amid ongoing tensions over Somaliland.
The agreement was signed in Istanbul by Turkey’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayaktar and his Somali counterpart Abdirizak Mohamed, who described the agreement as “an exciting moment for both countries.”
Bayraktar said the two countries would carry out joint activities in the country’s inland waters and offshore blocks to ensure Somali people have access to hydrocarbon resources.
“We aim to strengthen Turkey’s presence in the Horn of Africa by further promoting cooperation in the energy sector,” he added.
The ministers did not provide further details about the deal, which could include hydrocarbon exploration and drilling activities.
“The two sides agreed to cooperate in developing Somalia’s oil and gas sector,” Mohammed wrote on social media platform X.
The signing of the agreement came after talks between the two ministers and other officials on Tuesday. The Somali minister visited Turkey earlier this week with a large delegation.
The agreement marks another step in strengthening ties between Ankara and Mogadishu, who also signed an agreement last month to strengthen cooperation in the defense sector, including maritime security in Somalia.
Somaliland-Ethiopia Red Sea deal fuels uncertainty
The February 8 Defense and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement came amid ongoing tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia over a controversial deal signed by Addis Ababa with the breakaway region of Somaliland. Somalia has categorically rejected the pact, which reportedly promised landlocked Ethiopia recognition of Somaliland’s independence in exchange for access to the Red Sea from the breakaway region’s ports. The Ethiopia-Somaliland deal prompted the government in Mogadishu to declare Ethiopia an “enemy,” stoking fears of armed conflict between the two regional countries.
Ankara and Mogadishu offered somewhat different interpretations of the February defense cooperation agreement. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud insisted that under the deal Turkey would defend its waters for 10 years, but Turkish officials stressed that the pact was not aimed at third countries, apparently referring to Ethiopia.
While declining to give details of the agreement, which awaits Turkish ratification, Turkish officials said it aims to develop Somalia’s “capacities and capabilities to counter illegal and illicit activities within its territorial waters.”
A Turkish Defense Ministry official said Thursday that the defense pact was a “framework” agreement and stressed that a Turkish delegation had recently visited Somalia to discuss “the most necessary actions to support Somalia.”
Somalia is also a key stepping stone for Turkey’s growing presence in the Horn of Africa and beyond, as Ankara seeks to expand its influence on the continent as part of its so-called Open Africa policy, introduced in the early 2010s. Since 2017, the African country has been home to one of Turkey’s largest military bases overseas, and Turkey has provided training and military support to Somalia in its fight against al-Shabaab and other militant groups.
The two cooperation agreements signed within a month between Turkey and Somalia come amid growing fears that military tensions between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu could further destabilize the region. The Horn of Africa is already beset by Islamist rebels and is home to major military tensions over attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial ships in the Red Sea. Tensions took a deadly turn on Wednesday when a Houthi missile attack killed three crew members on a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.
“A breakdown in relations between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu could threaten the two countries’ close cooperation in fighting the insurgency,” the International Crisis Group said.
While Riyadh, Cairo, Doha and Ankara have been vocal in their solidarity with the Mogadishu government following the Ethiopia-Somaliland agreement, Abu Dhabi, which has closer ties to Somaliland and Ethiopia, has remained largely silent.
“Another major concern is that the conflict could become a new front in a proxy war in the Horn of Africa, reminiscent of past conflicts between the region’s Gulf states,” the watchdog added in a report published earlier this week. “The agreement could drive a rift between two emerging powers: the Red Sea powers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their allies (including Eritrea and Djibouti) on the one hand, and the UAE, Ethiopia and their allies on the other.”
Somalia has also captured the attention of the world. After Britain reopened its embassy in Mogadishu after 22 years in April 2013, the United States last month signed a deal to build up to five military bases in the country, aimed at bolstering Somalia’s military in its fight against the Islamic extremist group al-Shabaab, The Associated Press reported.
