Ankara (Somalia Today) — Turkey’s parliament has approved a two-year extension of the country’s military mission in Somalia, allowing Turkish forces to continue supporting operations against terrorism, piracy, illegal fishing, smuggling and other security threats.
The Turkish Grand National Assembly approved the presidential motion during a session chaired by Deputy Speaker Celal Adan.
The new mandate will run from July 27, 2026, until July 27, 2028, extending an authorisation that parliament first granted in July 2024.
It allows President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to determine the size, scope, location and timing of Turkish military deployments.
Turkish forces may operate in Somalia, its maritime jurisdiction and other areas jointly identified by the two governments.
They may also cooperate with third countries and international organisations when necessary under agreements between Ankara and Mogadishu.
Former Turkish ambassador to Somalia Cemalettin Kani Torun told lawmakers that the measure should not be viewed as a routine extension of a foreign military mission.
“I see Somalia not through a file, but through the years I spent there,” he said during the parliamentary debate.
Torun said Turkey’s influence in Somalia rested not only on its military presence but also on the confidence it had built among Somali political and social groups.
“Every step taken in Somalia must preserve the trust Turkey has built so far,” he said.
“Because our greatest strength in Somalia is not our military presence, but the trust all parties have in us.”
Broad security partnership
The motion said Somalia’s position along the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden gave the country strategic importance for the wider region.
It described Somalia as a “friendly and brotherly country” with deep historical ties to Turkey.
Turkey has developed extensive cooperation with Somalia since 2011, when Erdogan, then prime minister, visited Mogadishu during a devastating famine.
The visit marked the beginning of a growing Turkish presence in Somalia, covering security, infrastructure, health, education, humanitarian assistance and economic development.
Torun said Ankara had built its standing by avoiding externally imposed solutions and by not openly supporting one Somali faction against another.
“We never offered ready-made prescriptions to Somalis, nor did we follow a policy of supporting one group against another,” he said.
“On the contrary, we tried to create a space where Somalis could decide their own future.”
Torun said that approach had become the main feature distinguishing Turkey from other foreign powers involved in Somalia.
The parliamentary motion said military training, technical assistance and advisory work continued under several agreements between the two countries.
These include accords on military training, defence industry cooperation and military financing.
Turkish naval forces have also supported international operations against piracy and maritime terrorism in the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and waters off Somalia since 2009.
Ankara opened its largest overseas military training facility in Mogadishu in 2017.
The TURKSOM base has trained thousands of Somali soldiers and remains a central part of efforts to rebuild Somalia’s armed forces after decades of conflict and institutional collapse.
Protecting Somali waters
The motion said Somalia’s defence and security forces had not yet reached the required level, partly because of the country’s economic difficulties.
It added that the Somali government had requested Turkish assistance, including support from the Turkish Armed Forces, as it seeks to establish control over its maritime territory and protect offshore resources.
The request followed a 10-year defence and economic cooperation framework agreement that Somalia and Turkey signed on February 8, 2024.
The deal commits Ankara to helping Somalia develop, train and equip its naval forces and defend its coastline from piracy, illegal fishing, smuggling and other threats.
“Through this cooperation with Somalia, Somalia’s economic resources will be secured and stability and security will be supported in a region of key importance for our foreign trade and maritime transport,” the motion said.
It added that the cooperation would strengthen Turkey’s friendship with Somalia and reinforce efforts against “terrorism, maritime piracy and armed robbery” in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and surrounding waters.
The partnership has also expanded into offshore energy exploration.
Turkey’s Cagri Bey drillship began work in April at the Curad-1 well, around 370 kilometres off Mogadishu, marking Ankara’s first deep-sea drilling operation abroad.
The well is expected to reach a total depth of 7,500 metres, with the operation projected to last between six and nine months, depending on weather and sea conditions.
Dialogue, not tension
The military extension comes as Somalia continues to battle the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab group, which controls territory in parts of southern and central Somalia and regularly carries out attacks against government and civilian targets.
Somalia also faces uncertainty over the future financing and logistical support of the African Union mission helping Somali forces fight the militants.
At the same time, political disputes between the federal government, opposition figures and some regional administrations have raised fears that internal tensions could undermine the security campaign.
Torun said Somalia needed political dialogue and consensus rather than further confrontation or externally imposed decisions.
“What Somalia needs most today is not new political tension but dialogue, not imposition but consensus,” he said.
He welcomed what he described as Turkey’s more active role since May in encouraging talks among Somali political actors.
Torun pointed to a visit by the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation as a positive step and urged Ankara to continue supporting dialogue.
He said Somalia had endured years of dictatorship, state collapse and civil war, making the rebuilding of national institutions a long and complex process.
“Rebuilding the state cannot be achieved through decisions made at a desk,” Torun said.
Lawmakers approved the motion after representatives of the parliamentary groups delivered their assessments.
