ANKARA [SMN] – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud attended the inauguration ceremony of Erdogan as the 12th Turkish President following his May 28 re-election win.
Mohamud was one of dozens of foreign dignitaries who attended Erdogan’s inauguration ceremony at his vast presidential complex in Ankara on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
President Hassan Sheikh congratulated Erdogan on his victory in the country’s elections.
The president praised the Turkish government for the significant progress they have made under the leadership of President Erdogan.
Hassan Sheikh wished them to continue their development plans at the national level and support the stability and development of their friendly countries.
Erdogan said Türkiye is ready to strengthen cooperation with Somalia in various fields and take bilateral relations to a higher level.
Somalia is one of the countries with the best relations with Turkey and hosts the largest Turkish embassy in the world and the biggest military base in Africa.
Also, Turkey remains a key security partner in Somalia as Ankara trained thousands of elite soldiers in the army and the police since the two countries signed a military pact in 2014.
In addition, Ankara provided substantial humanitarian aid to Somalia during the 2011 famine with Erdogan becoming the first leader outside Africa to visit Mogadishu at this critical time. Turkey also backed the Somali government with direct budget support.
