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Turkey is experiencing the agonies of its quest to regain its big state reflexes. It is making great errors in restoring those reflexes. Yet, there are moments when it is successful. The best case of this was its acceptance of 3 million Syrians as refugees. The second instance is in the case of Somalia. A country that has been suffering due to lack of a state system, terrorism, famine and poverty since 1991, Somalia has been helped to stand on its feet again by Turkey. There is no longer chaos or conflict in Somalia. In the wake of the 2011 famine, Prime Minister Erdoğan visited Somalia. Westerners were managing their humanitarian efforts from Kenya while Erdoğan walked the streets of Mogadishu without a bulletproof vest. Somalia is the mirror of Turkey's Africa policy and, at the same time, a manifestation of its desire to become a big state once again.
The Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, is currently under construction and it will be a 10,000-square-meter building in a 61,000-square-meter compound. Construction is expected to be completed in spring and the embassy building is expected to be officially opened by President Erdoğan. This embassy will be Turkey's largest mission abroad. Turkey is supporting the construction of military training facilities for the Somali military forces. These facilities were reported by some in the Turkish press to be a Turkey military training base, but they are actually part of a military academy. The first phase of this military academy will be operational in 2016. The academy will train military officers, petty officers and private soldiers according to European standards. Turkey will build a new building for the Somali parliament as well. This building will be its gift to Somalis and its groundbreaking ceremony is expected to be held in 2016. Turkey allocates funds worth $2 million annually from its budget. Thanks to these funds, the Somali government can pay the salaries of public servants in a timely manner and pay for the state's needs. The Mogadishu municipality was able to start clearing garbage after 20 years thanks to garbage trucks given by Turkey as a gift. This year, the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality will give the Mogadishu municipality 30 municipal buses.
2016 is an important year for Somalia. It is going through a critical process to restructure the state that is expected to be completed this year. There are three important issues that are expected to be completed in 2016: an election, the federal structure and the constitution. Turkey supports Somalia in this challenging process as well. The government's tenure will end in August. An election has to be held in 2016. Due to the conditions prevalent in the country, it does not seem likely that the one-person one-vote principle can be implemented in the short term. In 2012, 135 clan leaders had formed a clan- and region-based Electors Group. The intention is to expand this group to include up to 10,000 members in 2016. In this way, a more participatory democracy will be gradually implemented. Constitutionally, Somalia has a federal structure. It consists of three regional administrations (Jubaland, Southwest and Galmudug) and one federated state (Puntland). There are efforts to create a temporary regional administration to include Hiran and Middle Shabelle. Moreover, the status of the Banaadir region which comprises Mogadishu should be determined. A decision will be made as to whether it is an autonomous city or structur
Turkey is experiencing the agonies of its quest to regain its big state reflexes. It is making great errors in restoring those reflexes. Yet, there are moments when it is successful. The best case of this was its acceptance of 3 million Syrians as refugees. The second instance is in the case of Somalia. A country that has been suffering due to lack of a state system, terrorism, famine and poverty since 1991, Somalia has been helped to stand on its feet again by Turkey. There is no longer chaos or conflict in Somalia. In the wake of the 2011 famine, Prime Minister Erdoğan visited Somalia. Westerners were managing their humanitarian efforts from Kenya while Erdoğan walked the streets of Mogadishu without a bulletproof vest. Somalia is the mirror of Turkey's Africa policy and, at the same time, a manifestation of its desire to become a big state once again.
The Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, is currently under construction and it will be a 10,000-square-meter building in a 61,000-square-meter compound. Construction is expected to be completed in spring and the embassy building is expected to be officially opened by President Erdoğan. This embassy will be Turkey's largest mission abroad. Turkey is supporting the construction of military training facilities for the Somali military forces. These facilities were reported by some in the Turkish press to be a Turkey military training base, but they are actually part of a military academy. The first phase of this military academy will be operational in 2016. The academy will train military officers, petty officers and private soldiers according to European standards. Turkey will build a new building for the Somali parliament as well. This building will be its gift to Somalis and its groundbreaking ceremony is expected to be held in 2016. Turkey allocates funds worth $2 million annually from its budget. Thanks to these funds, the Somali government can pay the salaries of public servants in a timely manner and pay for the state's needs. The Mogadishu municipality was able to start clearing garbage after 20 years thanks to garbage trucks given by Turkey as a gift. This year, the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality will give the Mogadishu municipality 30 municipal buses.
2016 is an important year for Somalia. It is going through a critical process to restructure the state that is expected to be completed this year. There are three important issues that are expected to be completed in 2016: an election, the federal structure and the constitution. Turkey supports Somalia in this challenging process as well. The government's tenure will end in August. An election has to be held in 2016. Due to the conditions prevalent in the country, it does not seem likely that the one-person one-vote principle can be implemented in the short term. In 2012, 135 clan leaders had formed a clan- and region-based Electors Group. The intention is to expand this group to include up to 10,000 members in 2016. In this way, a more participatory democracy will be gradually implemented. Constitutionally, Somalia has a federal structure. It consists of three regional administrations (Jubaland, Southwest and Galmudug) and one federated state (Puntland). There are efforts to create a temporary regional administration to include Hiran and Middle Shabelle. Moreover, the status of the Banaadir region which comprises Mogadishu should be determined. A decision will be made as to whether it is an autonomous city or structur
