Tuesday 16 Feb 2026 {HMC} Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state and becoming the only country to do so benefits neither Somalia nor the region, Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.
“I would like to reiterate that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland would benefit neither Somaliland nor the Horn of Africa,” Erdogan told a joint presser with Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa.
Erdogan said the region’s countries should develop solutions to the regional problems, urging that the Horn of Africa should not to be turned into “an arena of struggle for foreign powers.”
He underlined that Türkiye attaches importance to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states in the region, and does not want new conflicts and suffering to be added to a geography that has already endured significant turmoil.
Referring to Türkiye’s mediation efforts between Ethiopia and Somalia under the Ankara Process, Erdogan thanked both sides for their constructive stance.
“Once stability is achieved, we see no obstacle to the Horn of Africa attaining a position that attracts attention with its economic opportunities,” said the Turkish leader.
Bilateral relations
As for bilateral relations, Erdogan said it is a “source of pride” that more than 200 Turkish companies, with investments amounting to $2.6 billion, are supporting the employment of approximately 20,000 people in Ethiopia.
He added that Turkish contracting firms have undertaken 15 projects in Ethiopia, including in railways, transportation, factories, tourism facilities and energy transmission lines, voicing hope that cooperation would further increase.
“We are pleased to be the second-largest investor in Ethiopia,” he said.
Describing Ethiopia as a brotherly country and a key actor on the African continent with its strategic location and political, economic and cultural weight, Erdogan said Türkiye’s first embassy in sub-Saharan Africa was opened in Addis Ababa in 1926, placing the city at the heart of relations with the continent.
He said the coincidence of his visit with the 100th anniversary of the embassy’s opening is a separate source of pride.
Expressing pleasure in visiting Addis Ababa after an 11-year interval, Erdogan thanked Abiy and Ethiopian authorities for their warm hospitality.
Cultural ties
Highlighting the importance of centuries-old ties with the Ethiopian people, Erdogan said Ethiopia holds invaluable significance in terms of Islamic culture.
He said restoration of the Nejashi Tomb and Mosque, known as the first Muslim settlement in Africa, with the support of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), not only preserved an important cultural heritage of African history but also strengthened longstanding bonds of friendship between the two nations.
Erdogan said Türkiye would continue to build cultural bridges through the activities of the Maarif Foundation in the field of education, as well as through TIKA’s projects in Ethiopia.
“On the basis of equal partnership and mutual understanding, we will always stand by the good people of this sincere geography,” Erdogan said.
Mutual agreements
Following the one-on-one and interdelegation meetings, the sides proceeded to a signing ceremony for various bilateral agreements.
At the ceremony, the “Minutes of the 9th Türkiye-Ethiopia Joint Economic Commission on Economy, Trade and Technical Cooperation” were signed by Türkiye’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos.
An MoU on cooperation in energy between the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources MInistry and the Ethiopian Water and Energy Ministry was also signed by Bayraktar and Ethiopian Water and Energy Minister Habtamu Itefa.
Following the signing and the news conference at the National Palace, Erdogan gifted Türkiye’s homegrown electric car Togg to the Ethiopian premier.
He also congratulated Ethiopia’s Muslim community on the holy month of Ramadan.
SOURCE AA
