Somalia’s Federal cabinet ministers have on Wednesday approved the energy deal that the country recently signed with Turkey.
In an extraordinary meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre in Mogadishu, the ministers approved the oil and gas production agreement that Somalia and Turkey penned on March 7th this year.
The Minister of Petroleum and Minerals Abdirisaaq Omar Mohamed presented the agreement to the cabinet.
In his presentation to the council, the minister highlighted the deal’s potential for unlocking the nation’s resource wealth while stimulating economic growth.
The deal that was signed in Istanbul state that Turkey will provide expertise and assistance to Somalia in the oil and gas sector in a bid to ensure that the Somali people can capitalize on their untapped resources in the country.
According to the ministry of petroleum, the deal includes transportation, distribution, refining, sales and services operations of oil and other products from land and sea projects.
The oil and gas exploration deal came barely weeks after Somalia and Turkey signed a marine and defence cooperation agreement which was approved by the country’s bicameral parliament.
Turkey maintains good diplomatic relations with Somalia and has over the years been involved in the building of State hood and has helped the Horn of Africa Nation in different areas including humanitarian assistance, security and health sector where it has established the largest medical facility.
