- Title: Turkey opens military base in Mogadishu to train Somalia soldiers
- Date: 30th September 2017
- Summary: ****WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) SOMALI PRIME MINISTER, HASSAN ALI KHAIRE, SAYING: ''We have to remind ourselves that there was a time Somalia had the most trained, most powerful forces in Africa. There was a time when Somalia forces were sent to other African countries as peacekeepers as we have our brothers (AMISOM) today in Somalia.'' VARIOUS OF TURKISH MILITARY OFFICERS AT THE BASE
- Embargoed: 14th October 2017 18:08
- Keywords: Somalia Prime Minister Turkish military chief security al Shabaab military air base training school
- Location: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
- City: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
- Country: Somalia
- Reuters ID: LVA00370SEN2F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Turkey opened its biggest overseas military base on Saturday (September 30) in Somalia's capital, cementing its ties with the volatile but strategic Muslim nation and building a presence in East Africa.
More than 10,000 Somali soldiers will be trained by Turkish officers at the base, according to a senior Turkish official.
Turkish military chief of staff Hulusi Akar attended the opening ceremony in Mogadishu where he addressed military officers from both countries.
Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire also thanked the Turkish government for opening the training school and said it would help the government "reconstruct" its national force - "not based on clan...not from a particular place, but well-trained forces that represent the Somali people."
The opening of the $50 million base signals ever-closer ties between Turkey and Somalia. Turkey's relations with the Horn of Africa date back to the Ottoman Empire, but President Tayyip Erdogan's government has become a close ally of the Somali government in recent years. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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