Turkey’s Expanding Footprint in Somalia: From Humanitarian Partner to Strategic Power Broker
By T. Roble
Somalia’s decision to sign a fisheries agreement with Turkey this week is the latest marker of a relationship that has steadily moved beyond aid and reconstruction into the realm of strategic infrastructure, security cooperation, natural resources, and geopolitical positioning. Over the past decade and a half, Ankara has built one of its most comprehensive overseas engagements in Somalia, touching nearly every pillar of the Somali state.
What began as a humanitarian intervention during famine has evolved into a layered partnership that now places Turkey at the centre of Somalia’s ports, airports, security sector, offshore and onshore energy ambitions, blue economy, healthcare, and even future space activity.
From famine diplomacy to long-term presence
Turkey’s modern involvement in Somalia dates back to 2011, when then–Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Mogadishu at the height of the famine, at a time when many international actors operated remotely. The visit marked a political turning point and laid the foundation for sustained Turkish engagement in development, education, and health.
One of the most visible legacies of that early phase is the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital in Mogadishu, the largest public hospital in Somalia. Built and supported by Turkey, the facility has become a flagship symbol of Ankara’s long-term social investment and soft-power presence in the country.
Airports and ports: long-term control of gateways
Turkey’s influence soon extended into critical transport and trade infrastructure. The Port of Mogadishu has been operated by Turkey’s Albayrak Group since 2014 under a 30-year concession, placing Turkish management at the heart of Somalia’s primary maritime gateway and one of its most important revenue points.
In aviation, Favori, a Turkish company, manages Aden Adde International Airport under a 30-year concession. Turkey’s role in Somali aviation also carries strong symbolic weight: Turkish Airlines became the first major international carrier to resume flights to Mogadishu after decades of isolation and now operates daily flights, reconnecting Somalia directly to global routes through Istanbul.
These concessions are not merely commercial arrangements. At 30 years each, the port and airport deals lock in Turkish operational control across multiple political cycles, effectively embedding Ankara within Somalia’s economic sovereignty for a generation. Ports and airports determine customs revenue, passenger flows, security screening, and the country’s primary interfaces with global trade and travel.
The length and strategic nature of these concessions have periodically triggered domestic scrutiny in Somalia, particularly around revenue sharing, contract transparency, and oversight. In a context where institutions are still consolidating, long-term concessions with a single foreign partner concentrate both opportunity and risk. While Turkish management has improved operational capacity and international connectivity, critics argue that such extended arrangements require stronger disclosure, renegotiation
Security cooperation and the TURKSOM anchor
Security cooperation has remained the backbone of Ankara’s Somali strategy. Turkey operates its largest overseas military training facility, TURKSOM, in Mogadishu. Since opening in 2017, the base has trained thousands of Somali troops, embedding Turkish influence in force generation, doctrine, and military leadership networks.
This role was formalised further in February 2024, when Somalia and Turkey signed a 10-year defence and economic cooperation agreement, with a strong focus on maritime security and naval capacity-building. For Somalia, the agreement is framed as a pathway to protecting its long coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone. For Turkey, it consolidates a strategic security presence along the Red Sea–Indian Ocean corridor.
Energy exploration: TPAO, PSAs and Oruç Reis
Turkey’s most consequential expansion has been into Somalia’s oil and gas sector. Türkiye’s state-owned energy company, Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), has signed multiple production-sharing and exploration agreements with Somalia, marking a decisive shift from cooperation to direct resource engagement.
The sequence of agreements is telling:
- An initial energy cooperation agreement was signed in March 2024.
- A separate onshore exploration deal followed in October 2024.
- In April 2025, the Production Sharing Agreement covering offshore blocks was formally submitted to the Turkish Parliament, signalling Ankara’s institutional commitment.
Together, these agreements grant TPAO exclusive rights to explore and develop designated offshore and onshore oil and gas blocks in Somalia.
Operationally, this culminated in the deployment of the Turkish seismic research vessel Oruç Reis, which concluded its offshore survey in June 2025 after collecting three-dimensional seismic data over 4,464 square kilometres across three offshore blocks. The data is now being analysed to identify potential drilling targets, placing Turkey at the centre of Somalia’s future hydrocarbons trajectory.
Fisheries and OYAK: blue economy with strategic undertones
The newly signed fisheries agreement adds another layer to this expanding footprint. The deal was concluded with OYAK, Turkey’s military-linked pension and welfare institution that also operates as a major investment group.
While framed around developing Somalia’s fisheries sector, improving value chains, and boosting exports, the choice of OYAK ties the blue economy to Turkey’s broader security ecosystem. In combination with maritime security cooperation, it reinforces Ankara’s role not just as an investor, but as a key actor in how Somali waters are governed and utilised.
Space ambitions: Somalia as a launch platform
Perhaps the most striking illustration of Turkey’s long-term vision is its plan to build a spaceport in Somalia. Leveraging Somalia’s proximity to the equator, the proposed facility would offer technical advantages for satellite and rocket launches, including reduced fuel requirements and increased payload capacity.
While officially presented as a civilian space initiative, launch infrastructure is inherently dual-use. The project would place Somalia within a strategic technological domain and further widen the scope of Turkey’s presence from land, sea, and air into space.
Turkey as mediator in Horn of Africa disputes
Beyond bilateral cooperation, Turkey has increasingly positioned itself as a diplomatic broker in sensitive Horn of Africa disputes, reinforcing its image as a regional power broker even where mediation outcomes have been limited.
Ankara has, over the years, sought to facilitate dialogue between the Federal Government of Somalia and Somaliland. Turkish-backed talks, particularly in the early 2010s, aimed to ease tensions and explore a negotiated political framework. While these efforts helped sustain communication channels, they ultimately failed to produce a durable agreement on recognition, autonomy, or constitutional arrangements, underscoring the depth of the dispute. Still, Turkey’s willingness to engage in such a politically fraught process elevated its standing as an external actor prepared to invest diplomatic capital in Somalia’s internal fault lines.
Turkey’s mediation role became more pronounced during the Somalia–Ethiopia diplomatic crisis triggered by Ethiopia’s January 2024 memorandum of understanding with Somaliland. As tensions escalated, Ankara stepped in to host Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in December 2024, resulting in the Ankara Declaration, which reaffirmed respect for sovereignty and committed both sides to dialogue over maritime access. Although follow-up talks stalled in 2025 and the underlying dispute remains unresolved, Turkish mediation helped de-escalate tensions and avert a deeper rupture.
Taken together, these interventions illustrate how Turkey’s Somalia engagement now extends beyond development and security into regional diplomacy, positioning Ankara as a key interlocutor in Horn of Africa politics, even when outcomes fall short of lasting settlements.
The regional and geopolitical context
Turkey’s foray into Somalia is unfolding amid renewed volatility in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea region. Shipping disruptions, regional conflicts, and intensified naval deployments have elevated the strategic importance of the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean littoral. Somalia’s geography places it at the centre of this evolving security landscape.
At the same time, Somalia has become a competitive arena for influence among Gulf states, Western powers, and emerging global actors. Turkey’s approach stands out for its coherence, linking security cooperation, infrastructure control, and access to strategic resources within a single long-term framework.
The timing is also sensitive. Ethiopia’s push for maritime access, tensions surrounding Somaliland, and unresolved regional fault lines have sharpened debates around sovereignty and ports. Turkey’s dual role as Somalia’s security partner and strategic investor gives it leverage, but also entangles it in regional political dynamics.
A partnership at a crossroads
Turkey increasingly treats Somalia not simply as a fragile state in need of assistance, but as a strategic partner with geography, resources, and long-term geopolitical value. For Somalia, the relationship offers investment, connectivity, security support, and international visibility. It also places a premium on strong institutions, transparent contracts, and careful balancing to ensure sovereignty is preserved.
Seen together, the fisheries deal, energy agreements, port and airport concessions, defence cooperation, healthcare investments, and space ambitions are not isolated initiatives. They form part of a deliberately constructed strategic architecture that is reshaping Turkey’s role in Somalia and Somalia’s place in the wider Horn of Africa.