Somalia and Turkey

How do Somalia and Turkey relate today?

Turkey has an embassy in Mogadishu and a consulate general in Hargeisa. Somalia has an embassy in Ankara (Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Ferhat Alkan became Turkey's ambassador on 21 September 2026 (Turkish Embassy Mogadishu, heads of mission).

Turkey says its humanitarian and development aid to Somalia has passed US$1 billion (Turkish MFA). Turkish companies run Mogadishu's seaport and airport (Turkish MFA). Turkey exported goods worth US$424.9 million to Somalia in 2023 (WITS, World Bank).

The two governments signed a defence and economic framework agreement on 8 February 2024 (The East African, 2024). On 19 July 2024 Turkey's state oil company and the Somali Petroleum Authority signed a deal on three offshore blocks (Garowe Online, 23 April 2025). The Turkish drillship Çağrı Bey reached Somalia on 9 April 2026 to drill the Curad-1 well (Turkish Ministry of Energy, 9 April 2026).

When did contact begin?

Contact goes back to the 16th century. In the wars of Imam Ahmad of Adal in the 1530s and 1540s, Adal's army included matchlock men, many of them Turks from Zabid in Yemen; see Imam Ahmad and Adal. A Heritage Institute study notes Ottoman-era buildings still standing in coastal towns such as Berbera (HIPS, 2016).

In 1585 the Ottoman captain Mir Ali Bey sailed to Mogadishu to challenge Portugal on the East African coast. The Portuguese captured him at Mombasa in 1589 (Önalan, Kadim, 2025).

By the middle of the 16th century Zeila (Saylac) and Berbera were dependencies of the sharifs of Mocha. In the 17th century they passed to the Ottoman Turks, who ruled them through locally recruited Somali governors (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study).

From the mid-1700s the northern coast passed under the sharifs of Mukha, who held a loose authority for the Ottomans and took a small yearly tribute (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study).

Modern relations date from Somalia's independence. Turkey opened its embassy in Mogadishu in 1979 and closed it in 1991 when the civil war began (Turkish MFA). The embassy's own site marks 60 years of diplomatic relations but does not give the starting year (Turkish Embassy Mogadishu).

Turkey's renewed role began before 2011. It hosted the Istanbul Conference on Somalia on 21 to 23 May 2010 (HIPS, 2016). On 17 August 2011 Turkey called an emergency meeting of the OIC Executive Committee in Istanbul on the famine (Turkish MFA, press release 248, 1 November 2011).

Who are the ambassadors and envoys?

Turkish ambassadors to Somalia, as listed by the Turkish embassy (Turkish Embassy Mogadishu, heads of mission):

• Mehmet Sıtkı Coşkun: 1981 to 1984.
• Nejat Taylan: 1984 to 1987.
• Hikmet Şengeç: 1988 to 1992.
• Cemalettin Kani Torun: arrived in Mogadishu on 31 October 2011 and reopened the embassy on 1 November 2011 (Turkish MFA, press release 248); the embassy list dates his term from June 2012 to September 2014.
• Olgan Bekar: September 2014 to December 2018. He also served as the foreign minister's special envoy for the Somalia–Somaliland talks (Turkish MFA).
• Mehmet Yılmaz: ambassador from December 2018; recalled in January 2023 (Hiiraan Online, January 2023).
• Ibrahim Mete Yağlı: named in January 2023 to replace Yılmaz (Hiiraan Online, January 2023).
• Alper Aktaş: 15 March 2024 to 14 September 2026.
• Ferhat Alkan: from 21 September 2026.

Somali ambassadors to Turkey:

• Abdullahi Mohamed Ali "Sanbaloolshe": nominated on 3 June 2015; a former ambassador to the UK and former head of NISA (Radio Dalsan, 3 June 2015).
• Jama Abdullahi Mohamed: appointed in May 2017 (Embassy of Somalia in Ankara).
• Fathudin Ali Mohamed: presented credentials to President Erdoğan in May 2024 (Hiiraan Online, May 2024).

Missions: the Turkish embassy in Mogadishu, opened in its new building on 3 June 2016 (Anadolu Agency, 3 June 2016); the Turkish Consulate General in Hargeisa, open since 1 June 2014 (Turkish MFA); and the Somali embassy in Çankaya, Ankara (Embassy of Somalia in Ankara).

Who built the tie?

• Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish prime minister then president: visited Mogadishu on 19 August 2011 with ministers and his family, and again in January 2015 and June 2016 (Turkish MFA, press release 248; Turkish Directorate of Communications, 6 July 2022).
• Cemalettin Kani Torun, ambassador from 2011: a doctor who had run the charity Doctors Worldwide; the first Turkish ambassador in Mogadishu since 1991. He was elected to Turkey's parliament for Bursa in 2015 (HIPS, 2016).
• Olgan Bekar, ambassador 2014 to 2018: led the Somalia–Somaliland talks as special envoy and announced the new embassy on 29 October 2015 (Turkish MFA; HIPS, 2016).
• Ahmet Davutoğlu, foreign minister: mediated the Ankara meeting of the Somali and Somaliland presidents on 13 April 2013 (Turkish MFA).
• Bekir Bozdağ, deputy prime minister: flew on the first Turkish Airlines flight to Mogadishu on 6 March 2012 (Capital FM, March 2012).
• Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somali president: signed the 2013 Ankara communiqué, opened the airport terminal and hospital with Erdoğan in 2015, and signed the Ankara Declaration in December 2024 (Garowe Online, January 2015; Anadolu Agency, 12 December 2024).
• Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, Somali president: made a state visit to Turkey on 26 April 2017 and a working visit on 23 November 2018 (Turkish MFA).
• Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, Somali defence minister: signed the defence and economic framework agreement with Yaşar Güler in Ankara on 8 February 2024 (The East African).
• Yaşar Güler, Turkish defence minister: co-signed the February 2024 framework agreement (The East African).
• Hamza Abdi Barre, Somali prime minister: took the defence agreement through cabinet on 21 February 2024 (VOA).
• Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkish energy minister, and Dahir Shire Mohamed, Somali petroleum minister: led the Çağrı Bey drilling mission in April 2026 (Turkish Ministry of Energy).
• Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Turkish industry minister: announced that building of a spaceport in Somalia had begun (Anadolu Agency).
• Hulusi Akar, Turkish chief of general staff: opened Camp TURKSOM with Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire on 30 September 2017 (VOA, 30 September 2017).
• Çetin Group and Kozuva, Turkish builders: formed Favori LLC, which built the new terminal and took over Aden Adde airport (The African Aviation Tribune, September 2013).
• Albayrak Group: took over Mogadishu port in 2014 (Hürriyet Daily News).

What agreements have they signed?

• 13 April 2013, Ankara Communiqué: between the Federal Government of Somalia and Somaliland, mediated by Turkey (Turkish MFA).
• 2013, Digfer hospital: agreement to rebuild and run Mogadishu's Digfer hospital (Garowe Online, January 2015).
• 2013, Aden Adde airport: 20-year management contract to Favori (The African Aviation Tribune, September 2013); amended and restated on 16 May 2019 (World Bank PPP).
• 2014, Mogadishu port: 20-year concession to Albayrak (Hürriyet Daily News); replaced in October 2020 by a revised 14-year concession (Goobjoog).
• 8 February 2024, Framework Agreement on Defence and Economic Cooperation: ten years; Turkey to build, train and equip a Somali navy. Somalia's parliament approved it (The East African; VOA).
• Early 2024, hydrocarbons memorandums: gave the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) licences for three offshore areas of about 5,000 square km each (Hürriyet Daily News, 27 October 2024).
• 19 July 2024, offshore production agreement: TPAO and the Somali Petroleum Authority, three blocks covering 15,000 square km (Garowe Online, 23 April 2025).
• October 2024, onshore exploration agreement: TPAO and the Somali Petroleum Authority, announced when the Oruç Reis reached Mogadishu (Hürriyet Daily News, 27 October 2024). Daily Sabah reported an onshore exploration and production agreement in April 2025 (Daily Sabah, April 2025).
• 11 December 2024, Ankara Declaration: between Somalia and Ethiopia, under Turkish facilitation (Somali MFA).
• 30 December 2025, Istanbul agreements: signed during President Hassan Sheikh's visit, including plans for a spaceport (AllAfrica, 31 December 2025; Anadolu Agency).

Which leaders have visited?

• 19 August 2011: Prime Minister Erdoğan in Mogadishu, with ministers; he visited a camp for displaced people and a hospital (Daily Sabah, 20 August 2011).
• 6 March 2012: Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ on the first Turkish Airlines flight (Capital FM).
• 13 April 2013: Presidents Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ahmed Silanyo of Somaliland in Ankara (Turkish MFA).
• 25 January 2015: President Erdoğan in Mogadishu; opened the airport terminal and the hospital (Garowe Online).
• 3 June 2016: President Erdoğan in Mogadishu; opened the embassy complex (Anadolu Agency).
• 26 April 2017: President Farmaajo, state visit to Turkey (Turkish MFA).
• 12 to 13 December 2017, 9 July 2018, 23 November 2018: President Farmaajo at the OIC summit in Istanbul, Erdoğan's swearing-in and a working visit (Turkish MFA).
• 26 to 27 November 2019: Somalia's foreign minister, official visit (Turkish MFA).
• 6 July 2022: President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Ankara (Turkish Directorate of Communications).
• 11 to 12 December 2024: President Hassan Sheikh in Ankara for the Ankara Declaration (Anadolu Agency).
• March 2025 and July 2025: President Hassan Sheikh in Ankara (Hiiraan Online, March 2025; Africanews, 12 July 2025).
• 30 December 2025: President Hassan Sheikh in Istanbul, days after Israel recognised Somaliland (Hürriyet Daily News).
• April 2026: talks in Istanbul on energy and trade (Dawan Africa, April 2026).

How much do they trade?

Trade grew from almost nothing. Erdoğan said trade was US$2 million in 2003 and US$363 million in 2021 (Turkish Directorate of Communications, 6 July 2022).

Turkish exports to Somalia, from World Bank WITS data:

• 2010: US$4.8 million (WITS).
• 2015: US$72.6 million (WITS).
• 2019: US$256.5 million (WITS).
• 2022: US$386.3 million (WITS).
• 2023: US$424.9 million (WITS).

Turkish imports from Somalia are small: US$1.0 million in 2023 (WITS). Turkey says Turkish investment in Somalia had reached US$100 million (Turkish MFA).

Main Turkish companies in Somalia:

• Turkish Airlines: first flight Istanbul to Mogadishu on 6 March 2012, the first major international airline in Mogadishu in about 20 years (Capital FM).
• Favori LLC: took over Aden Adde International Airport from Dubai-based SKA on 14 September 2013 (The African Aviation Tribune). Its new terminal was ready for Erdoğan's January 2015 visit (HIPS, 2016).
• Albayrak: took over Mogadishu port in October 2014, offering 55% of gross monthly income to the government. From October 2014 to April 2015 it paid about US$9.4 million into the Central Bank (HIPS, 2016). The revised 2020 deal required US$50 million of investment over five years (Goobjoog).
• TPAO: the Turkish state oil company. The Oruç Reis survey ship began seismic work off Somalia in October 2024 (Geeska). The Çağrı Bey began drilling Curad-1, about 372 km off Mogadishu, in April 2026, with a planned depth of 7,500 metres (Turkish Ministry of Energy). On 29 October 2026 the Somali Petroleum Authority said drilling had reached the layers where signs of oil may appear (Dawan Africa).

Somalia's auditor general reported that the government is entitled to 62.17% of the gross revenue of the Albayrak port company, and received US$38 million in 2025 (Dawan Africa).

How much aid and money has gone in?

• 2011 appeal: Turkish government and NGOs raised US$350 million in three to four months after Erdoğan's visit (HIPS, 2016).
• Total: more than US$1 billion in humanitarian and development aid over the decade to 2022 (Turkish Directorate of Communications).
• Hospital: the Digfer hospital, built in the 1960s, was rebuilt and renamed the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital; Erdoğan opened it on 25 January 2015 (Garowe Online).
• Schools and services: by 2015 there were three Turkish hospitals and ten Turkish schools in Somalia, including two in Hargeisa and one in Galkacyo. Turkey had rebuilt 23 km of Mogadishu roads (HIPS, 2016).
• Turkish Red Crescent: in Somalia since 2011; it ran Jazeera camp for more than 28,000 displaced people (HIPS, 2016).
• TIKA: 450 students had graduated from its farming training centre by December 2014 (HIPS, 2016).
• Scholarships: 1,092 Somalis received Turkish government university scholarships from 1992; 98 places were set for 2019–2020 (Turkish MFA).
• Debt relief: in November 2020 Turkey paid about 2.4 million SDR (about US$3.4 million) towards Somalia's IMF arrears (Anadolu Agency).

What about security?

Turkey opened Camp TURKSOM in Mogadishu on 30 September 2017. It cost a reported US$50 million and trains Somali soldiers (Al Jazeera, 1 October 2017). By 2022 Turkey had trained 5,000 Somali soldiers and 1,000 special police (Turkish Directorate of Communications). The February 2024 agreement gives Turkey a ten-year role in building the Somali navy (VOA). For details see Turkey's military in Somalia and Foreign forces in Somalia.

How does Turkey deal with Somaliland and the member states?

• Consulate: Turkey opened a consulate general in Hargeisa on 1 June 2014 (Turkish MFA).
• Talks: Turkey hosted Somalia–Somaliland talks from 2013, taking over from the United Kingdom (HIPS, 2016). The two sides agreed to share air space management. In December 2015 Somaliland said it preferred another mediator (HIPS, 2016).
• Israel's recognition: on 26 December 2025 the Turkish foreign ministry called Israel's recognition of Somaliland unlawful and an interference in Somalia's internal affairs (Daily Sabah).
• Member states: TIKA has run projects in Puntland and Somaliland (HIPS, 2016). Somalia's petroleum minister said the Curad-1 well lies offshore Galmudug State (Dawan Africa).

Have there been disputes?

• Airport contract, 2013: the hand-over of the airport to Favori led to a court case and a debate in parliament (HIPS, 2016). In 2025 the Somali government said it was not satisfied with the airport's management (Dawan Africa).
• Oil terms: in April 2025 Garowe Online published the July 2024 agreement. Under Article 4.7, Turkey can take up to 90% of yearly output to recover costs, and Somalia receives 5% of total revenue. Somali lawmakers who approved the deal said they had not seen the document (Garowe Online, 23 April 2025).
• Attacks on Turkish staff: in July 2013 Al-Shabaab attacked a building housing Turkish embassy staff (HIPS, 2016).

How many Somalis live in Turkey?

The UN counted 27,594 people born in Somalia living in Turkey in 2024 (UN DESA, International Migrant Stock 2024). See Türkiye (Somali diaspora).

Where does Turkey stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia?

• Conferences: Turkey hosted the Istanbul Conference on Somalia in May 2010 (HIPS, 2016) and called the OIC emergency meeting on the famine on 17 August 2011 (Turkish MFA, press release 248).
• London 2013: the Somalia Conference in London welcomed the Ankara dialogue between Somalia and Somaliland (UK government, 7 May 2013).
• Security Council, 2025: Turkey's UN envoy Ahmet Yıldız rejected Israel's Somaliland decision at the Security Council (Daily Sabah).
• Ethiopia dispute: Turkey hosted two rounds of Somalia–Ethiopia talks in July and August 2024 before the Ankara Declaration (Addis Standard).

Related pages

• Turkey's military in Somalia
• Foreign forces in Somalia
• Türkiye (Somali diaspora)
• Imam Ahmad and Adal
• Ports
• Oil and gas
• Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
• Somaliland 1991 to 2026