Turkey is in discussions with the government of Somalia to build a test site for missiles and satellites, according to informed sources close to this matter.
Somalia, which is located at the eastern tip of Africa, is suitable for detecting Turkish missiles that are being launched into the Indian Ocean, and it is also considered a suitable place to build a space station, as it is close to the equator, according to the sources.
According to sources, Turkey has a long-standing program to test long-range missiles and participate in the space race.
Turkey’s defense minister refused to comment on the matter. Also, the National Security Adviser to the President of Somalia, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, refused to comment when contacted.
The chairman of the defense committee of the Somali parliament, Abdi Ahmed Koshin, said that he did not know anything about such an agreement with Turkey.
Turkey has been working on increasing the range of domestically-made missiles, particularly the Tayfun, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said by 2022 could be launched with a range of 560 kilometers (350 miles).
Turkey is one of the foreign powers that have continuously strengthened their relations with Somalia since President Erdogan visited the country in 2011.
Turkey came to the aid of Somalia when it was struggling with tribal wars and the destruction of economic infrastructure. He also has Turkey’s largest military base outside his country in Somalia, which was opened in Mogadishu in 2017, and hundreds of soldiers from Turkey are training the Somali army.
Turkey plans to explore oil and gas in Somali waters, as part of defense and economic cooperation between the two countries.
