Somalia gave its coastline away, here's why it matters

[Music] Somalia and turkey have signed a new security pact that commissions the Turkish navy to train and equip its Somali counterpart over the next 10 years The Pact is as much about mogadishu's sense of security as it is about ankara's ambition to project Maritime power beyond its Shores the details of the agreement are not entirely public but shortly after turkey and Somalia signed a second deal that allows turkey ish oil and gas exploration in Somali Waters in effect Somalia has leased all its territorial Waters and Marine Resources to Turkey relations between the two are not recent or surprising the Turks have been active in Somalia at a time when everyone else abandoned them economic and diplomatic ties Run Deep turkey has the most successful training and equipping programs in the world running in Somalia hundreds of professional Somali officers are graduating annually from this program now bilateral ties are about to enter a new strategic phase through these two deals with Somalia turkey will bring in new contracts for its defense industry and presumably other Turkish business interests while cementing its military presence in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea however the security PCT comes with strategic obligations because to whom much is entrusted much is [Music] expected today's episode is sponsored by better help we live in what feels like the most anxious era ever it's not necessarily the most dangerous period but it seems as such it's all too easy to get overwhelmed by today's confusing world that's why I'm a big advocate for controlling what you can actually control your mental health get help that is better better help is professional counseling done with a licensed professional therapist online after the service assesses your needs you get matched for weekly phone or video sessions with one of over 30,000 expert therapists you can log into your account at any any time to send them messages and change your counselor at any time for free so 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billion in aid for programs in healthcare education public services and infrastructure for an economy the size of Somalia that $ billion is a small fortune eventually though humanitarian support turned into a strategic one turkey applied economic and infrastructure Aid to Somalia and then increasingly included military aid as well in 2014 turkey reopened mogadishu's sea port and Airport to this day both are managed by Turkish companies and somalia's economic situation has improved compared to previous decades later turkey LED an international partnership to train and equip the Somali National Army and in 2017 turkey opened its first overseas military base in Mogadishu from this military complex some 5,000 Somali Commandos known as goror and an additional 10,000 regular troops have been trained they make a world of difference in a land that has known nothing but chaos and destruction overall the Turkish programs successfully brought Somalia back to a sense of normality the country still has a long way to go al-shabab militants still roam the countryside and the economy is still weak but somalis may be forgiven for a moment of Celebration thanks to the Turkish progr programs there is a road map and a path forward Somalia May yet rejoin the International [Music] Community however having invested so much in Somalia the Turks also want to protect their economic and political interests thus expanding turkey's Naval presence in the Red Sea was The Logical next step in February 2024 anara and Mogadishu signed an agreement to train and equip somalia's Naval force and help Patrol its 3,300 kmet Coastline the deal is mutually beneficial for turkey it's an opportunity to spread and grow its defense clientele the Turkish Defense sector is booming and anara sees itself as an exporter of military hardware and as a partner in training special forces and law enforcement turkey is also one of the few countries with independent ship building capabilities so the security pact with Somalia will lead to mogadishu's procurement of Turkish Naval platforms additionally Africa is a massive market for security businesses and services and Turkish weapons and arms are relatively affordable enough to seize a sizable market share in Africa Somalia is thus appreciated as turkey gateway to large defense deals in the African Marketplace moreover given somalia's proximity to Global Maritime traffic turkey considers its foothold part of a broader strategy to secure Supply chains and create strategic depth in the maritime domain the full details of the deal have yet to be disclosed but they do include terms that split the revenue from activities in somalia's exclusive economic zone more specifically turkey gets a 30% share of marine revenues in return for bolstering somalia's maritime security capabilities through training joint operations information sharing and Naval Acquisitions from the Somali angle a 30% fee is not to be sniffed at building and maintaining a modern Navy is one of the costliest programs a government can undertake not to mention one of the most complicated ones nevertheless stronger Maritime security institutions and capacity are Paramount for Somalia the country's coastline is extensive in fact it is the longest of any African country and so Somalia is entitled to a vast exclusive economic zone that Harbors significant marine life and possibly considerable hydrocarbon resources as such Fresh Off The heal of the security pact turkey and Somalia agreed to a second deal in early March focusing precisely on oil and gas exploration the energy deal could turn things around for Somalia GEOS seismic studies show that the country has potential oil and natural gas reserves equivalent to 30 billion barrels placing it on par with oil Rich Kazakhstan Mogadishu already has an exploration deal with us-based Coastline exploration for seven offshore blocks and drilling is planned to start in 2025 with the new energy deal in effect Turkish companies can be expected to join the Americans for the oil rush along the Somali Coast however thanks to the security pact and the energy deal anara has an advantage over Washington turkey's drilling Fleet will be able to extract natural resources at a reduced cost compared to St standard licensing agreements this implies that the security PCT and now the energy deal partially compensates Turkish Naval activity through revenue generated from Marine activities for context illegal and irregular fishing off its Coast as well as piracy costs the Somali economy at least $300 million annually with turkey's involvement Somalia will eventually be able to gather at least 70% of that sum which would otherwise be completely inaccessible somalia's e also has many submarine cables running through its sea floor connecting marketplaces in the Persian Gulf with East Africa and the Red Sea in particular the two Africa cable and the Eastern Africa submarine system cable both anchoring in Mogadishu connect dozens of nations with one another whoever patrols these Waters would thus gained supplementary bargaining power across the Indian Ocean so for both anara and Mogadishu the benefits are mutually reinforcing and the deal is politically and economically sensible however while turkey and Somalia have been working on the maritime deal for some time recent events have affected its timing just a month earlier Ethiopia and Somali land signed a memorandum of understanding under which Ethiopia gets a 50-year lease on a strip of land on Somali lands Coast for Naval and Commercial Maritime use and access to the berbera port turkey and Ethiopia have close economic and Military ties but the latter's encroachment on somal land which is considered worldwide to be part of Somalia could have repercussions that harm Turkish Ethiopian Rel ations in the future sovereignty lies at the heart of the dispute over the recent agreement with somal land in exchange for the Barbara Port deal Ethiopia is considering recognizing the independence of the separatist Somali land if it hasn't already deao doing so openly however could impact the Region's stability for one it sets a dangerous precedent Ethiopia itself is not exactly the most secure and cohesive Nation recognition of separatist forces could backfire and hit Ethiopia still the Somali land deal will enhance Ethiopia's landlocked state giving it strategic and economic access to the open oceans and securing alternative routs to djibouti's Port through which 95% of Ethiopian exports and imports pass that said the Somali Turkish deal serves as a check and helps preserve somalia's sovereignty against what it sees as foreign encroachment but there is more to the security pact than deterring Ethiopia another point of consideration is the United Arab Emirates when it comes to the Horn of Africa the UAE is one of the main power Brokers it has dual purpose Assets in erria Yemen's sakota Island breakway Somali land and Somalia proper meanwhile the Turks have a foothold in Sudan and Somalia however the amirati do not see eye to eye with their Turkish counterparts as a result turkey and the Emirates are engaged in a bitter rivalry that expands The Wider Red Sea area the UAE approves of the Ethiopia Somali land deal mainly because it signed an agreement of its own with Breakaway Somali land for a share of the burbara port since then AB Abu dhabi's economic and political investments in both Ethiopia and somal land have grown so two factions have emerged in recent times on one side are Ethiopia the UAE and separatist Somali land on the other are turkey and Somalia power dynamics have shifted since and new coalitions involving Regional and extra Regional players continue to take shape however geop politics can rarely ever be so oversimplified in the past 3 years the UAE has made substantial investments in the Turkish economy and thus holds some monetary leverage the same is true in Somalia the amirati manage two key Somali ports Barbera and bosaso the former sits in Breakaway Somali land and the latter in Somalia proper currently however the emiratis are in negotiations to acquire the port of kiso in the South and Somali president Hassan shik muhamud enjoys close political support from his amirati counterpart hence with all these crossborder Investments it's sometimes difficult to distinguish friend from foe as such Somalia has turned into a space of intense competition between Ankara and Abu Dhabi over the past decade so in spite of its outstanding relations with [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] L demands accountability I've been your host Chiron from Caspian report if you approve of what we do please leave a comment hit the like button and mayhaps share the video in any case thank you for your time and S [Music]

Channel: CaspianReport

Views: 301,841

Keywords: Somalia, Turkey, UAE, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Somaliland, United States, Oil, Gas, Resources, Indian Ocean, Iran, India, Geopolitics, Navy, Maritime, Trade, Power, Horn of Africa, Security, Strategy, Economy, Money, Wealth, Fleet, Ships, Somali, Soldiers, Mogadishu, Caspian, Report

Id: 3ordyoBQiBU

Length: 16min 55sec (1015 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 01 2024