Türkiye is set to send a selection of naval vessels to Somalian waters after the two countries recently agreed that Ankara will send an exploration vessel off the coast of East African country to prospect for oil and gas.

Late last Friday, President Recep Erdoğan submitted a motion to the Turkish parliament seeking authorisation for the deployment of the Turkish military to Somalia, including in the country’s territorial waters, according to Reuters.

The day before, the Turkish Energy Ministry announced that it had signed an agreement that will see it granted exclusive rights to explore and produce hydrocarbons in three blocks in Somalia.

The blocks represent a combined area of 5,000km².

Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, the Somalian Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister, said once production starts “it will be beneficial for both countries. It will also help the relationship between the two countries as well.”

Turkey and Somalia have been building a relationship over the past few months and the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar described the new agreement as a “historic step” for both countries.

Speaking on social media platform X at the time, Bayraktar said that with “this agreement, we will carry out joint activities to bring the resources of Somalia to the Somali people. We aim to strengthen Turkey’s presence in the Horn of Africa with new collaborations in the field of energy.”

Since the two countries signed the defence and economic cooperation agreement earlier this year, Ankara has built schools, hospitals and infrastructure and provided scholarships for Somalis to study in Turkey.

As part of the military cooperation, Turkey opened its biggest overseas military base in Mogadishu in 2017 and has provided training to Somali military and police.