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Türkiye's Ambassador to Mogadishu Alper Aktas announced on Tuesday that Türkiye will expand its projects in Somalia to include a space base and enhanced fisheries cooperation, stating that "we have kept all our promises so far" during the opening of Somalia's Second National Fisheries Week.
Speaking at the event themed "Food Security and Quality Assurance" in Mogadishu, Aktas emphasized that projects once viewed skeptically by some circles have all been realized, including the embassy compound, TURKSOM Military Training Base, which TURKSOM stands for "Somali Turk Gorev Kuvveti Komutanligi" and Recep Tayyip Erdogan Hospital.
Addressing fisheries cooperation, Aktas assessed that "approximately $2 billion worth of wealth awaits you annually in the ocean. Together with Turkish fishing vessels, we will take that share and our Somali brothers will use it as they deserve."
The ambassador revealed ambitious plans for space cooperation, stating: "We will also build the space base, and together we will see satellites launched into the sky from that base."
Aktas reiterated Türkiye's commitment to fulfilling its promises in Somalia: "We have kept all our promises so far. We kept our word in hydrocarbon, oil, and natural gas exploration activities. We will keep it in fisheries too."
"The Türkiye-Somalia brotherhood will continue to disappoint those who try to break our hope and faith," he noted.
The current expansion builds on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's landmark 2011 visit to Somalia during the country's worst drought in decades, which Somali officials describe as a watershed moment that ended years of isolation.
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