ANKARA (KAAB TV) – Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is signing two separate agreements with political parties in Ethiopia and Somalia to deepen the strategic relationship between the two countries in East Africa.
AKP Deputy Chairman, Zafer Sirakaya, met in Ankara with Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein, Secretary General of Somalia’s ruling Union for Peace and Development (UPD) party to sign a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation. on both sides.
Turkish government officials told Middle East Eye that a similar agreement will be signed with the ruling Prosperity Party (PP) on Friday in Addis Ababa.
According to the authorities, the agreement facilitates joint research, training, consultation and information sharing between the parties.
The AKP, which has been ruling Turkey for twenty years, hopes to pass on its management experience to its allies in both countries, fostering civil society cooperation and promoting bilateral trade.
Turkey insists on neutrality between Ethiopia and Somalia, and has been a mediator in the negotiations to resolve the conflicts in the Horn of Africa.
The tension worsened after Ethiopia signed a maritime agreement with the self-proclaimed independent Republic of Somaliland in 2024.
“Somalia is in every process”
An informed source told MEE that Turkey initially planned to sign a cooperation agreement with Ethiopia last fall but postponed it to avoid taking sides in the conflict.
In December, Somalia and Ethiopia signed an agreement in Ankara after seven hours of intensive talks, which reaffirmed Somalia’s unity and began talks on allowing Ethiopia to enter the Somali Sea.
While the agreement resolved the first cause of the dispute between the two countries, relations have deteriorated.
In recent years, Somalia has strengthened its relationship with Egypt, which is still facing a dispute with Ethiopia over the rights to the water resources of the Nile River.
“What is evident here is that [Ankara] has not taken any action in the region without considering Somalia. Somalia is included in every process,” said Tunc Demirtas, a regional expert affiliated with the Ankara-based Seta think tank.
He added that Turkey has a “regional perspective” on the Horn of Africa, and is working to establish relations with other countries in the region.
The source said that the AKP delegation led by Sirakaya is expected to sign an agreement with Djibouti next week, similar to the one signed between Somalia and Ethiopia.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a friendly relationship with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and it is part of Ankara’s decision to sell drones to Ethiopia in 2021.
The drones played an important role in helping the Ethiopian army resist the insurgent movements in the capital.
The relationship between Turkey and Somalia is very extensive and long-standing.
Somalia has a large Turkish base in Mogadishu, while Turkish companies control important infrastructure including the city’s port and airport.
Amid tensions with Ethiopia, Somalia signed a defense and economic cooperation agreement with Turkey in February.
The agreement allowed Ankara to build, train, equip the Somali Navy and to defend the Somali Sea.
The agreement also gives Turkey the right to explore for energy resources off the coast of Somalia.