Turkish Military Building Training Center In Somalia
KABUL: (MEP) Turkey has started to build a military training base in Somalia as part of its pledge to build up the national army for the Somali government to fight against al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab militants, a senior Turkish diplomat has said.
Emel Tekin, the head of the Foreign Ministry department responsible for Somalia, stated that Turkey is establishing a military base in Mogadishu, a first for Turkey, to train Somali soldiers. She said the initiative is part of a framework agreement between the two countries on military cooperation.
“This military training facility will also be an important base for [providing] military training for the entire [continent of] Africa,” she added.
The Turkish diplomat’s remarks were delivered during deliberations of Parliament’s Defense Commission, where the agreement on defense industry cooperation between Turkey and Somalia was approved on Dec. 9, 2015. The agreement was signed on Jan. 25, 2015, in Mogadishu.
Since 2006, Somalia has witnessed deadly clashes between government forces and al-Shabab militants, who say they aim to overthrow the government in the African state.
Turkey has provided $400 million in aid to Somalia in recent years, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Turkey will be hosting the High-Level Partnership Forum in Turkey in İstanbul on Feb. 23-24, which is a follow-up to the High-Level Meeting on Somalia held in New York on Sept. 28, 2015.
