(Bloomberg) -- Turkey has held talks with Somalia about setting up a site to test-fire missiles and space rockets from the Horn of Africa country, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ankara’s ballistic-missile program requires long-range testing and Somalia’s location on the eastern tip of mainland Africa is ideal for firing toward the Indian Ocean, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive subjects. The country is close to the equator, making it a suitable site for a space port, they said. Testing near the equator can also help boost the range and efficiency of space rockets.
Turkey has long aspired to join a space race traditionally dominated by global powers, and plans to launch a rocket have been underway for some years. That could potentially be fired from Somalia, the people said. Turkish officials are confident Somalia will agree to its request, the people said. Turkey’s defense ministry declined to comment.
Hussein Sheikh-Ali, national security adviser to Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, declined to comment when contacted by phone on Tuesday. The chairman of the parliamentary sub-committee on defense, Abdi Ahmed Koshin, said he was unaware of any such agreement with Turkey.
Turkey has been working on increasing the range of its domestically-built Tayfun missiles from about 560 kilometers (350 miles), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in 2022. A Somalia launch site would remove the risk of debris falling into residential areas and other countries, the people said.
Turkey is one of the few foreign powers strengthening ties with Somalia as it tries to rebuild after years of clan warfare. Over the past decade, Turkey has expanded its influence through defense cooperation and infrastructure projects, and has plans for hydrocarbon exploration. It’s involved in mediation between the government in Mogadishu, the capital, and leaders in Somaliland, a semi-autonomous region.
Along with the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, Turkey is among the middle-tier powers making inroads across Africa as Chinese investment slows and the US plays catch up.
While Russia has become a symbol of anti-Western sentiment in some places, its Wagner Group mercenaries aren’t as coveted as Turkey’s TB2 Baykar drones, which 11 African nations have purchased.
Increasing Foothold
Turkey has been increasing its foothold in the Horn of Africa nation since Erdogan visited the country in 2011. He agreed at the time to provide financial assistance to revive basic services such as education and health along with security.
A defense-industry cooperation agreement signed between Turkey and Somalia in 2015 allows for “joint research, development and production projects in the field of military equipment in the territories of the parties.” The two countries agreed in July to further boost their defense and economic cooperation over the next decade.
In 2017, Turkey opened its largest overseas military base in Mogadishu, and hundreds of the country’s troops are training Somalian soldiers. That’s part of Somalia’s plan to improve security after an insurgency by the Islamist group al-Shabaab.
Turkey, which wants to replicate its relationship with Mogadishu in other African countries, is expected to dispatch an exploration ship to search for oil and gas off Somalia’s coast, following an offer from the country’s government.
On the diplomatic front, Ankara has recently tried to mediate in a dispute between Somalia and neighboring Ethiopia over a deal Addis Ababa struck to build a port in Somaliland. Somalia considers the semi-autonomous region to be part of its territory.
--With assistance from Mohamed Sheikh Nor and Mohammed Omar Ahmed.
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