Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler met with the Commander of the Somali National Army, Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Mahmoud, in Ankara, in the presence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Armed Forces, General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu.
The meeting, which took place on Monday, was part of the high-level exchanges between the defense agencies of Somalia and Turkey, according to a statement from the Turkish Defense Ministry.
The Somali National Army Commander traveled to Ankara at the invitation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Armed Forces, and his visit comes at a time when the two countries are working closely on security issues and building the Somali military institutions.
Somalia and Turkey have long had a strong defense and security partnership, with Ankara providing support to the Somali military, particularly in the areas of training, equipping and capacity building of security institutions.
The Turkish Defense Ministry did not provide further details on the specific points discussed at the meeting.
The visit of the Commander of the Somali National Army to Ankara comes at a time when Somalia is facing a difficult security situation and efforts to strengthen the capacity of government forces, with military cooperation between Somalia and Turkey being one of the important pillars of external support for the Somali military.
