Somalia President visits Somali commandos training in Türkiye

July 6, 2022

The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visited the Turkish Commandos Training School in Isparta

By: Zakeriye Ahmed, Horn diplomat correspondent

The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has visited the Turkish military training school in the province of Isparta, where new recruits of Somali National Army’s special forces are undergoing Commando Basic Training..

“I met some great future Somali military officers and leaders, and I am proud of them all. We are grateful to Türkiye for this valuable security assistance,” President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud tweeted after his visit.

National security adviser of Somalia Hussein Moallin and defense minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur accompanied the president’s visit.

Turkiye is the biggest country where Somali troops have been training for the last decade. Also, Turkiye has its most extensive base overseas in Somalia.

Relations between Somalia and Turkiye have been historically strong and increasing rapidly since the first official visit of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Somalia in 2011.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Turkiye on July 4, on his second overseas trip since his election on May 15.