Erdogan: Somalia has invited us to look for oil in its territorial waters

Turkey's president said that the state of Africa, supported by Ankara in the engineering and security fields, made the proposal to him. "This is very important for us," said Erdogan, whose similar agreement reached with the government in Tripoli has raised tensions in the region.

Erdogan: Somalia has invited us to look for oil in its territorial waters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Somalia had invited Turkey to search for oil in its territorial waters. This is in line with a recent controversial maritime agreement between Ankara and the government in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.

Turkey has been providing much assistance to Somalia since its heavy famine in 2011 as part of its efforts to boost its influence in the Horn of Africa and counterbalance its rivalries from the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Turkish engineers are helping to build roads in Somalia, and Turkish army officers have trained Somali soldiers as part of efforts to build the state army.

Erdogan, who spoke to reporters on his return flight from the Libya summit in Berlin, said Turkey would act in accordance with Somalia's order, but did not elaborate. "There is a proposal from Somalia. They say: 'There is oil in our sea. You take these actions in Libya, but you can also do them here.' That's very important to us," Erdogan said. "That's why we will take steps in our activities there."

Late last month, a group of Turkish engineers was hit by an explosion at the Mogadishu checkpoint, which killed at least 90 people. Over the weekend, 15 people, including Turkish contractors, were injured in the explosion of a car bomb in Apogua.

Kan Shukur works as Uber driver in the US: "Erdogan took everything from me"

for further reading

Erdogan and Pompeo at the Berlin summit on Libya, first (Photo: Reuters)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkish President Erdogan Libya's Peace Summit, Berlin, Germany January 19, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)