Friday June 27, 2025
Ankara (HOL) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met
Thursday with Somalia’s Minister of Ports and Marine Transport, Abdulkadir
Mohamed Nur, in Ankara, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.
The closed-door meeting took place in the Turkish capital,
but no further details were released.
In this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also held
talks with Minister Nur. Discussions are believed to have centered on expanding
bilateral cooperation in maritime infrastructure and energy development,
although neither side issued an official statement.
The meetings come amid deepening maritime ties between the
two countries following the deployment of Türkiye’s Oruc Reis seismic
exploration vessel to Somalia’s offshore waters.
According to Türkiye’s Ministry of Energy and Natural
Resources, the Turkish-built vessel completed its first intercontinental
mission, conducting a three-dimensional seismic survey across three blocks
covering 4,464 square kilometers.
The survey, which began on October 25, 2024, aimed to assess
Somalia’s offshore energy reserves. The collected data will be analyzed in
Ankara to evaluate the potential for oil and natural gas drilling—a move that
could unlock Somalia’s long-untapped energy sector.
The energy partnership reflects Türkiye’s growing strategic
engagement in the Horn of Africa and Somalia’s efforts to develop its blue
economy and attract foreign investment.