Somalia’s federal Cabinet has approved several key maritime agreements, including a new cooperation deal with Turkiye, aimed at modernizing the country’s ports and boosting maritime trade.
The Cabinet also passed a law creating a national disaster and risk management fund to coordinate responses to natural and man-made disasters, reflecting efforts to mitigate the ongoing drought’s impact on water and food supplies.
The agreements include Somalia’s accession to international maritime conventions covering ship tonnage measurement, wreck removal, and labor standards to strengthen governance, improve port services, and protect seafarers’ rights.
The Turkiye-Somalia deal focuses on maritime trade development, port service modernization, technical cooperation, mutual recognition of seafaring certificates, and facilitating commercial activities. Since 2011, cooperation between the two countries has expanded across economy, education, health, and infrastructure.
Somalia’s Minister of Ports and Maritime Transport Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur has highlighted that these steps will integrate Somalia into the global maritime system, enhance trade safety and efficiency, and build a competitive and sustainable maritime sector supporting national development.