Ankara (Somalia Today) – Türkiye has approved a $30 million grant agreement with Somalia, giving Mogadishu fresh budget support as Ankara expands its financial, defence and energy ties with one of its closest African partners.
Türkiye published the decision on Thursday in its Official Gazette, Resmî Gazete, under presidential decision number 11262, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the approval on April 30.
Turkish ambassador Alper Aktaş and Somalia’s Finance Minister Bihi Iman Egeh signed the agreement in Mogadishu on April 1, according to the agreement’s text.
The agreement says Türkiye will provide Somalia with a grant of up to $30 million, paid in monthly instalments of no more than $2.5 million.
It says the money will support “budget financing and institutional capacity building”.
Budget support
The deal provides Somalia with fresh fiscal support as the government works to strengthen public finances, expand domestic revenue, and maintain international backing after completing a major debt relief process.
Under the agreement, Türkiye will transfer the funds in several tranches to an account held by the Central Bank of Somalia at Ziraat Katılım Bankası in Mogadishu.
Each tranche may cover up to six months and will require approval from Türkiye’s foreign ministry before release.
Somalia must send Ankara an official stamped receipt after each payment and submit reports showing how it used the money.
The agreement requires Mogadishu to provide a report after each disbursement and a final financial and narrative progress report within one year of the final tranche.
Somalia will also cover taxes, public charges, transfer costs and currency conversion costs outside Türkiye. The document says Türkiye will not cover any additional direct or indirect costs beyond the grant amount.
The agreement describes the funding as a grant, not a loan, meaning Somalia will not need to repay it.
Financial pressure
The support comes as Somalia continues to rely on external financing while rebuilding state institutions after decades of conflict.
Somalia reached the completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative in December 2023, unlocking $4.5 billion in debt relief and sharply reducing its external debt burden.
The milestone allowed Somalia to regain access to concessional financing from international lenders, but officials and donors have repeatedly said the country still needs stronger revenue collection, tighter spending controls and sustained budget support.
The Turkish grant is expected to ease short-term fiscal pressure on the federal government, which is also funding security operations against Al-Shabaab, salary payments, public services and institutional reforms.
The agreement does not specify which government departments or programmes will receive the funds.
Strategic partnership
Türkiye has become one of Somalia’s most important foreign partners since Erdogan, then prime minister, visited Mogadishu during the 2011 famine.
Ankara has since built hospitals, roads and public infrastructure, offered scholarships, trained Somali forces and opened its largest overseas military training base in Mogadishu in 2017.
The new grant comes as the two countries deepen cooperation in areas far beyond aid.
In February 2024, Türkiye and Somalia signed a defence and economic cooperation agreement to strengthen Somalia’s maritime security and help Mogadishu protect its territorial waters.
A Turkish defence ministry official said at the time that Ankara would help Somalia build its capacity to fight illegal and irregular activities at sea.
“Upon request from Somalia, we will provide support in the field of maritime security, as we did in the fight against terrorism,” the official said.
Energy push
The partnership expanded further in March 2024 when the two countries signed an oil and gas cooperation agreement covering exploration, development and production in Somalia’s offshore and onshore blocks.
Türkiye later sent the seismic research vessel Oruç Reis to Somali waters, marking a major step in its search for offshore energy opportunities in the Horn of Africa.
Last month, Türkiye launched its first overseas deep-sea drilling mission off Somalia, sending the Çağrı Bey drilling vessel to begin work in Somali waters.
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar described the operation as “a new era in Turkish petroleum exploration”, with the planned well expected to reach a depth of 7,500 metres.
For Somalia, the agreements with Türkiye offer budget support, security assistance and potential energy development.
For Türkiye, it strengthens Ankara’s long-term influence in the Horn of Africa, where Somalia sits along key maritime routes linking the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean.
