Turkish-Somali trade council meets in Ankara to strengthen ties

The second joint committee on the economy of Somali-Turkish collaboration has met in the Turkish capital, Ankara, to discuss the economic cooperation of the two countries and the implementation of previous agreements and the make use of available opportunities.

For the Somali side was attended by a ministerial-level delegation led by the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, and a Turkish delegation led by Turkish minister of Defense.

The first day of the meeting, which took place on 30-31 October, was convened on by technical committees on both sides.

Officials and business-people from Turkey and Somalia emphasized developing economic ties between the two countries and called for more initiatives to enhance cooperation in every field.

Speaking at a Turkey-Somali Business Council meeting organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board, the council’s head Ahmet Sami İşler stressed that Somalia has a very special position in the African vision of Turkey. İşler added that bilateral relations gained impetus particularly after an official visit by then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2011 and with the reopening of the Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu the same year.

We, as Turkish businessmen, are ready to give all contributions to utilize the resources of Somalia for the country’s economy,” İşler said.

Jamal Mohamed Hassan, Somalia’s minister of planning, investment and economic development said that they had excellent technical meetings with the Turkish delegation and acknowledged the good platform and mechanism to take stock of Somali economic and trade relations with Turkey.

“We have already implemented most of the agreements we reached last time. This year, we have had even more successful meetings,” Minister Jamal added.

The Turkey-Somalia Business Council was established in September 2015, with the aim of advancing the economic relations between the two countries by business forums, delegation visits, meetings and seminar events. The first meeting of the council was held last year in Istanbul. This year’s meeting saw major participation from the Somalian side as Fisheries and Maritime Resources Minister Abdullahi Bidhan Warsame, Port and Marine Transport Minister Mariam Aweys Jama, Agriculture Minister Said Hussein Eid and Commerce and Industry Minister Abdullahi Ali Hassan took part in the Somalian delegation.

The bilateral trade volume between the two countries stood at $187 million in 2018. Turkey made $180 million in exports to Somalia while $6 million corresponded to Somalia’s exports to Turkey.