Controversy over the strange agreement between Türkiye and Somalia

According to the international group Tasnim News Agency, these days in Turkey, public opinion and the media of this country The publication of news about Somalia has angered many citizens and experts. The story is that the Erdogan government has donated 5,000 square meters of good and quality land to Somalia in one of the chic neighborhoods of the capital Ankara. Some old and retired diplomats, in a conversation with C. TV channels. it. Ann Turk and Ann. T. He announced that such a thing is customary in international relations and the world of diplomacy, and most countries, reciprocally, in their capitals, donate land to a friendly country and receive donated land to build an embassy in it, and in fact, it is a kind of barter transaction. It is friendly and should not be sensitive to such an action.

But it didn’t take long for the follow-ups of the largest opposition organization of Erdogan, the People’s Republic Party (CHP), showed that the case goes beyond the 5,000-meter donated land, and Turkey is committed It is agreed that he will pay zero to one hundred for the construction of the embassy and deliver the building to Somalia in a stylish and usable form. A member of the Turkish Parliament and a member of the Foreign Relations Commission, addressing Vice President Judet Yilmaz and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, said: “What’s going on? You have turned the government of the Republic of Türkiye into a real estate transaction company! Now that you have donated land, why did you commit that the cost of building the embassy will be paid from the pockets of the Turkish people?”

The sensitivity to allocating free land and accepting the construction of an embassy for Somalia, while the Erdogan government in the last three years, that is, right In a situation where the economic crisis has reached its peak, it has given a total amount of one billion dollars in free financial aid to Somalia. The Somali embassy building in Ankara will be built with modern architecture, luxury materials and special facilities, and the said government will not pay even one dollar of the costs of this project.

Why did Erdogan’s opponents become sensitive to the issue of Somalia?
In the continuation of the political and security relations between Turkey and Somalia for the past few years, in 2024, the parties will enter a new phase of relations development. became The signing of a diplomatic agreement between Turkey and Somalia has resulted in the Turkish government not only allocating land in Ankara for the construction of the embassy and providing the cost of its construction, but also adding a clause to the text that has angered the opposition.

The clause that says: “If the Somali government wants to sell the said building or lease it to others in the future, there is no prohibition and it will have such authority according to Turkish acquisition laws.” .

The People’s Republic Party asked Erdogan’s government: “What is your justification for paying for the construction of the Somali embassy and why in the said contract, there is no mention of the provision of a legal dispute?” In such cases, it is necessary to introduce a domestic or foreign court as an arbitration authority, so that a lawsuit can be filed there if the parties do not adhere to the terms of the contract. But you didn’t even observe this important legal issue”. /> Turkish companies have had many economic activities in African countries in the past few years, and now Turkish contractors are working in more than 30 African countries. It is said that Erdogan’s government has preferred those contractors and capitalists. to send to Africa and support them who are close to the Justice and Development Party and are known as companies that have come out of the hearts of conservative families in Anatolia and the organization of labor protection workers “Mosiad” in the last two decades. Meanwhile, the old organization of merchants and craftsmen known as “Tosiad” is always active in the intellectual-political line of secularism and Kemalism.

Dam construction, road construction, construction of arcades, shopping complexes, bridge construction, construction of schools, water piping and gas, telecommunication projects, agriculture and mass production are among the most important areas of activity of Turkish contractors in African countries. Erdogan has been used many times. Because in 2021, the agreement on “Mineral exploration and geological studies” was signed between the parties, and on February 8, 2024, the “Defense and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement” was signed between Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Güler and his Somali counterpart Abdul Qadir Mohammad Noor.

According to this agreement, Turkey, which has a comprehensive military base in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, will protect Somalia’s territorial waters for 10 years and help develop marine resources.

Also, Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alp Arslan Bayraktar has signed an intergovernmental memorandum with Somalia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Abdul Razzaq Omar Mohamed in the fields of oil and gas in onshore and offshore blocks. This agreement covers energy, oil exploration, development, transportation, distribution, refining, sale of oil and its products and services for production.

Ms. Serpil Yilmaz, one of the Turkish analysts, in an analytical note on the Halk website, pointed out that the donation of land and the cost of building an embassy for Somalia In Ankara, it is a targeted political deal, the ultimate goal of which is not only to develop relations with Somalia and Africa, and by the way, the most important goal of this project is to attract the attention and friendship of America. 

According to Yilmaz, Erdogan wants to find the key to enter the Oval Office of the White House in the sands of the Somali coast!

Serpil Yilmaz believes that Erdogan’s team focused on the geopolitical importance of Somalia and It has been concluded that Somalia, as a country with the longest coastline of 3300 km in Africa to the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, has a special geostrategic importance. Because 26% of the world’s oil exports worth 350 billion dollars per year are made from this region.

Given that an average of 35,000 commercial ships pass through the Bab Al-Mandeb strait every year, which is a triangle of border neighbors. It connects Somalia, Eritrea, and Djibouti to Yemen on the Red Sea, with an annual trade volume of $2 trillion. Approximately 12 percent of world trade is carried through the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and provides the shortest route between Europe and Asia. As a result, Turkey hopes to increase its influence in this region to make America need Turkey’s maritime and security cooperation. As a result, Erdoğan’s team does not consider any limits to ensure the satisfaction of Somalia. constantly gives points to this country.

But Mrs. Yilmaz, for this purpose, Erdogan has categorized two important challenges:
First, according to Sarpil Yilmaz, the Yemenis in this region, as a Powerful and unpredictable action, they can mess up all the games. Second, no matter how influential Turkey is in Somalia and other African countries, it still has little to say against two powerful and wealthy rivals, namely China and the United Arab Emirates.

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