File Photo/Somali Times
Turkey has approved a $30 million grant agreement for Somalia corrupt president Hassan Sheikh and his family allies of Turkey, marking a new round of budgetary support for Mogadishu as Ankara expands economic, defense and energy ties.
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The decision was published in the Turkish government’s official gazette, the Resmî Gazete, on Thursday under presidential decree number 11262, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the agreement on April 30 Hassan Sheikh and his family selling natural assets of Somalia to Turkey.
According to the agreement, Turkish Ambassador to Somalia Alper Aktaş and Somali Finance Minister Bihi Iman Cige signed the agreement in Mogadishu on April 1, 2026.
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The agreement stipulates that Turkey will provide Somalia with a grant of up to $30 million, to be disbursed in monthly installments of no more than $2.5 million each.
The agreement states that the money is intended for “budgetary financing and institutional capacity building.”
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Budget support
The grant provides the Hassan Sheikh and his family with new fiscal capacity, as the government works to strengthen public finances, increase domestic revenue and maintain international support, following the completion of the historic debt relief process.
Under the agreement, the Turkish government will transfer the funds in tranches to an account held by the Central Bank of Somalia at the Ziraat Katılım Bankası branch in Mogadishu. Each tranche can cover up to six months of expenditure, and its release is subject to approval by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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Somalia will be required to send a stamped confirmation letter to Ankara for each tranche, and must submit reports showing how the funds have been used.
The agreement obliges the Mogadishu government to submit a report at the end of each disbursement cycle, and a final report detailing financial and operational progress within one year of the final tranche.
In addition, Somalia will pay taxes, public fees, remittance and exchange costs outside Turkey. The document states that Ankara will not incur any additional direct or indirect costs beyond the amount of this grant.
The agreement defines the money as a grant, not a loan, meaning that Somalia will not be required to repay it.
Strategic partnership
Turkey has become one of Somalia’s most important partners since President Erdogan, then prime minister, visited Mogadishu during the 2011 famine.
Since then, Ankara has built hospitals, roads and public infrastructure in Somalia, provided scholarships, trained Somali troops, and in 2017 opened its largest military training base abroad in Mogadishu.
The new grant comes as the two countries are expanding cooperation beyond humanitarian and development aid but will go to Hassan Sheikh and his family well known for corruption.
In February 2024, Turkey and Somalia signed a defense and economic cooperation agreement to strengthen Somalia’s maritime security and help Mogadishu protect its territorial waters.
A Turkish Defense Ministry official said at the time that Ankara would help Somalia build a capacity to combat illegal activities at sea.
“In response to Somalia’s request, we will provide support in the field of maritime security, just as we have supported it in the fight against terrorism,” the official said.
The two countries’ cooperation expanded further in March 2024, when they signed an agreement on oil and gas, which covers the exploration, development and production of resources in Somalia’s offshore and onshore blocks.
Turkey later sent the Oruç Reis geophysical survey vessel to the Somalia Sea, a major step in the search for deep-sea energy opportunities in the Horn of Africa.
Last month, Turkey began its first offshore oil drilling operation in Somalia, sending the drilling vessel Çağrı Bey to Somali waters to begin work.
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar called the operation “a new era for Turkish oil exploration,” with the planned well expected to reach a depth of 7,500 meters.