The recently inaugurated Turkish military base in the Somali capital city of Mogadishu will lay the groundwork for the country’s state building process, Somali ambassador to Ankara Jama Abdullahi Mohamed has said.
“For sure, the military base will contribute to the building of the Somali national military.” Expressing Mogadishu’s high expectations from military collaboration, Mohamed told Daily Sabah in an interview:
“Opening this military training camp, particularly at this time, is a great milestone of our state building process.” Mohamed is content with the progress made with the military base. “We are very pleased with the progress of the Turkish military training facility in Mogadishu,” he said.
The opening of the base in Mogadishu is the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) biggest overseas military base. The TSK provides Somali troops with training with around 200 Turkish military personnel on duty at the compound.
Over 10,000 Somali soldiers are to be trained as part of the understanding between the two countries. The official inauguration ceremony for the base was held on Sept. 30, with Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre in attendance.