Somalia eyes new mining deal with Türkiye

ISTANBUL

Somalia on May 26 said it is seeking to forge new agreements with Türkiye in the mining sector while expressing optimism over ongoing Turkish offshore oil and natural gas exploration activities off the Somali coast.

“At this stage, we are conducting drilling operations. We have completed the seismic data acquisition process. The data has been analyzed and interpreted. Currently, we are carrying out drilling activities for the first offshore well on the seabed,” Somali Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Dahir Shire Mohamed told the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency.

In April, Türkiye launched its first-ever deep-sea drilling operation abroad with the Curad-1 well off the coast of Somalia. The project is centered on a site located approximately 372 kilometers (231 miles) offshore from Mogadishu.

Mohamed also stated that during his visit to Istanbul, he held talks with Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar regarding ways to accelerate bilateral cooperation in the mining industry.

“The main issue we discussed was how we can further expedite our agreement in the mining sector. We signed a memorandum of understanding on mining cooperation in 2016. We now want to review this memorandum and determine where we can begin.”

At the very least, Somalia aims to establish a technical committee that will examine the existing data, the minister said.

“We possess extensive historical data, and with Türkiye’s expertise in this field, these records can be assessed to determine how aerial mapping of our mineral resources can be carried out,” he added.

Highlighting Somalia’s vast mineral wealth ranging from silica sand to uranium, Mohamed said, “Our country possesses abundant underground resources. We want to extract and develop them in a peaceful, reasonable and friendly manner.”