Erdoğan heads to Uganda, Kenya, grants $24mln to Somalia

ANKARA

AA photo

A grant agreement signed between Turkey and Somalia has entered into force as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan departed for a small tour of African countries.

The agreement was signed by the governments of Turkey and the Federal Republic of Somalia on May 26.

Upon a correspondence by the undersecretariat of the Treasury dated May 27, the cabinet decided for it to enter into force during their meeting on May 30. The agreement was published in the Official Gazette on May 31 following Erdoğan’s approval, and thus went into force.

The agreement, which the Official Gazette said was signed by Turkey and Somalia “within the spirit of historical and cultural ties as well as the long existing good relations between the parties” and was “desiring to strengthen and further enhance good relations between the parties,” went into force only a few hours before Erdoğan departed on May 31 on a four-day, two-country visit to East Africa that will last until June 3.

The president departed for Uganda, the first leg of the visit, from the Aegean province of İzmir, where he attended the “Distinguished Observer Day” of the Efes-2016 Combined Joint Military Exercise in the Seferihisar district.

Erdoğan will proceed to Kenya on June 1. The Turkish president completed the first leg of his Sub-Saharan African tour in the West African country of Senegal this February. Then in April, he continued in West Africa tour with visits to Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Guinea. During his latest visit to Africa, Erdoğan vowed to boost Turkish-African relations.

While in Africa, Erdoğan is highly likely to make an unannounced stopover in Somalia and meet top officials there. 

According to the agreement published in the Official Gazette, Turkey will extend Somalia a financial contribution of $2 million on a monthly basis not exceeding in total $24 million as a grant in accordance with domestic laws and annual budgetary applications.

Somalia is supposed to utilize the grant for budget financing and institutional capacity building. The grant will be supervised in accordance with the financial rules, administrative regulations and practices of Somalia.