Hundreds of Somali officers and non-commissioned officers have successfully graduated from the Turkish Military Training College, TurkSom, in Mogadishu, which is part of a joint military training programme between the two countries.

The graduation ceremony, held on July 3, was attended by dignitaries, including the Prime Minister of Somalia Hamza Abdi Barre.

This is the latest batch of Somali commissioned and non-commissioned officers to be trained with the support of Türkiye.

Prime Minister Barre said Somalia is working on building a national army that is "complete with knowledge and good leadership" to achieve the country's development goals.

"The Somali army is the backbone of strong and self-sufficient governance; therefore, you should take responsibility. You should be ready to free our country from the enemy and bring back the value, dignity, and unity of the Somali people," he told the graduating officers.

Growing ties

He thanked Türkiye for its efforts in supporting the Somalia in various fields of development and expressed confidence that the training will enhance Somalia’s fight against terrorism.

The Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu assured Somalia of Türkiye's continued support. "We wish success to these new soldiers joining the ranks of the Somali National Army. Türkiye will continue to support its brotherly nation, Somalia, in the field of defence," it said in a statement.

The TurkSom military academy, which started working in Somalia in 2017, was established to train members of the Somali army and support the Somali army as part of bilateral ties towards ensuring peace, security and stability of Somalia. It has trained thousands of Somali military officers since then.

Ties between Türkiye and Somalia have been growing in the last two decades as Ankara boosts its win-win relations with African countries.