Turkish ambassador meets top Somali officials

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Top Somali officials and Turkey’s Ambassador to Somalia Mehmet Yilmaz met Wednesday here in Mogadishu to discuss scaled-up cooperation in fisheries and labor affairs.

"Glad to met with Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Somalia Abdiwahab Ugas Hussein Ugas Khalif,” Yilmaz, said in a statement on the Twitter account of the Turkish Embassy. “We discussed opportunities to enhance technical cooperation between Ministries of Labour of our two countries."

He also met Minister of Fisheries & Marine Resources of Somalia Abdillahi Bidhaan Warsame.

Turkey, a close ally with Somalia, has invested in the horn of Africa nation’s education, infrastructure, and health.

Turkish humanitarian and technical development assistance to Somalia has exceeded $1 billion.

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry website, the bilateral trade volume was $187.3 million in 2018 and $250.8 million in 2019.

The total value of the Turkish investments in Somalia reached $100 million. Mogadishu International Airport and Mogadishu Sea Port are run by Turkish companies.

Turkey has its largest Embassy in Africa in Mogadishu and also built its largest overseas military facility there to train the Somali national army.