A Turkish warship, the Kinaliada, has docked in the port of Mogadishu today, marking a significant step in the defense cooperation agreement between Ankara and Mogadishu. Equipped with advanced weaponry and radar systems, the Ada-class corvette's arrival signifies the beginning of training and equipment provision by Turkey to bolster Somalia's maritime defense capabilities.

A Turkish warship has docked today in the port of Mogadishu

The Turkish warship Kinaliada docked today in the port of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, as part of a recent defense cooperation agreement signed between Ankara and Mogadishu. The ship, an Ada-class corvette, is equipped with search and navigation radar, a 76mm gun, and 8 Harpoon missiles. This is reported by the "Somali Guardian" news site, according to which officials of the Somali government are expected to meet with Turkish navy members once the warship docks in the port of Mogadishu, marking the first step towards implementing the agreement signed last February. With the docking of the Turkish ship, the port of Mogadishu has suspended its operations while President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is expected to attend the welcoming ceremony of the ship in Somali waters. Under the agreement signed by the respective defense ministers and ratified by the Somali parliament in February, Turkey will provide training and equipment to the Somali navy, allowing Somalia to protect its marine resources and territorial waters from threats such as terrorism, piracy, and interference. The agreement will also boost economic development and trade relations between the two countries, as Turkey will assist Somalia in exploiting its vast potential in fishing, tourism, and energy.

The defense cooperation agreement between Mogadishu and Ankara came just a few weeks after Somaliland signed a controversial memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia to grant 20 kilometers of land along the Gulf of Aden coast of Somaliland for a period of at least 50 years and build a military base in the port of Berbera, in exchange for a stake in the national airline Ethiopian Airlines and recognition by Ethiopia of Somaliland's independence. The document triggered a bitter diplomatic crisis, which culminated in recent weeks with the recall of the Somali ambassador to Addis Ababa and the order to close Ethiopian missions in Garowe (Puntland) and Hargeisa (Somaliland).

The memorandum would allow Addis Ababa to gain the coveted strategic access to the Red Sea, an objective that has been elusive for Addis Ababa since 1993 - the year of Eritrea's independence - and would represent a significant turning point for Ethiopian trade, offering Addis Ababa a valuable alternative route for importing and exporting goods, reducing its reliance on other ports - especially Djibouti, on which it has depended for over 85% of its imports and exports so far - and significantly strengthening its regional strategic influence. In an attempt to strengthen ties with friendly countries, at the end of February Somalia signed agreements with both Turkey and Djibouti, moves that seem to respond to Somaliland's and its Ethiopian ally's desire to tighten the situation. For Ankara, on the other hand, the agreements with Somalia and Djibouti are crucial to secure a primary position at the entrance to the Red Sea, where it is seeking new trade opportunities after its exclusion from the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) initiated at the G20 summit in New Delhi last September.