Somalia's president visited Turkey to meet Kenan Evren in 1987
Siad Barre became the first sub-Saharan African leader to visit the Turkish republic in 1987, according to Milliyet newspaper
When most people think today about the relationship between Somalia and Turkey they usually begin with then prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 2011 visit to Mogadishu. Over the next decade, as Somali leaders came and went, the two countries steadily upgraded and broadened the scope of their bilateral ties, from humanitarian aid to ever expanding trade relations and even security support and training for Somalia’s armed forces. I interviewed Somali-Turkish researcher Abdinor Dahir in 2021 writing for The New Arab who characterised the relationship today as “comprehensive” including development assistance and state-building support.
The decision to invest so heavily in the bilateral relationship by Ankara and Mogadishu seemed random to many. Somalis at the time knew little about Turkey and your average Turkish citizen probably didn’t have much knowledge about Somalia. I can attest to this, as I was often asked where I was from when I lived in Istanbul and where exactly my country was in Africa. Leaders on both sides have attempted to bridge that gap in public knowledge to facilitate people-to-people relations by often citing Ottoman era relations between Somali sultanates and the Sublime Porte in the 16th century and more recently in the early 19th century when the Ottoman governor in Yemen armed the Somali Dervish movement in its campaign against the British occupation of northern Somalia.
But there is one other period that is often overlooked in the bilateral relationship between the countries: the Cold War. Relations weren’t bad during this period but they weren’t strong either. In a video released by the Somali embassy in Ankara, then Charge d’affaires, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur (a fluent Turkish speaker who was educated at Ankara University’s prestigious Mülkiye) said the relationship between the countries “became much closer in the 70s and 80s, when the president of Somalia at the time, Siad Barre, visited Turkey in 1987.”
This trip hasn’t really been looked at in great depth, and is often missing on reporting and writing on the relationship between the countries. So I went into the archives of various Turkish newspapers to learn a bit more about how Barre’s visit to Turkey was covered and what came up. Milliyet, reported that Barre’s visited marked the first time a leader from “Black Africa came to Turkey” as an “official guest of President Kenan Evren.” Both leaders said the visit marked a turning point in Turkey-Somalia ties.
Context of Somalia’s outreach: Somalia had by then drifted well away from the orbit of the Soviet Union, leaving the club of socialist countries with a bad taste in its mouth after Moscow backed Ethiopia in the 1977 Ogaden War. Following the dramatic breakup, Somalia had begun cultivating closer ties with Middle Eastern countries in the western block and western countries too.
The major Turkish centre-left paper, Cumhuriyet, published four stories on Barre’s visit, giving greater insight into what happened when Barre came to Turkey and what both sides were hoping for out of it. The precocious reporter who wrote the story had great attention to detail mentioning that Barre “looked tired due to his long flight from Somalia to Ankara.”
The story is dated 12th June 1987 and I’ve taken the liberty of translating the entire text of the story with the support of fluent Turkish speaking friends. It was a front page story but appeared below the fold. Here is a link for the original copy.
Somali President Mohammed Siad Barre arrived in Turkey yesterday for a 4-day official visit as the official guest of President Kenan Evren.
After the welcoming ceremony, President Kenan Evren said to visiting President Siad Barre that he was very pleased that a Somali President visited Turkey for the first time, despite the good relations between the two countries since the 16th century.
Siad Barre, the 68-year-old President of Somalia, who looked tired due to his long flight from Somalia to Ankara, started his contacts in Ankara yesterday by visiting President Kenan Evren. Later on, Siad Barre met with Prime Minister Turgut Özal at the Camlı Köşk, where he was hosted.
It was learned that in the meetings to be carried out between the delegations of Somalia and Turkey, new aid projects by Turkey to Somalia will be focused on. It was reported that in these meetings, the construction of windmills, sending technical staff to make a cement factory operational in Somalia and technical assistance for food projects will be discussed.
President Kenan Evren, in his speech at the dinner he gave in honour of Barre, said that this visit proved that a new stage had been reached in bilateral relations. Evren said that most of the current international problems are between Islamic countries, whereas Islamic countries should be in closer solidarity. In his speech, the president emphasised that the Cyprus problem could not be resolved due to the intransigent attitude of the Greek Cypriot side. The visiting president also said that his first visit to Turkey marked a turning point in Turkey-Somalia relations, which have been developing rapidly in recent years.Beneath the story was a short backgrounder on Somalia, showing its location on the map, its size, population, languages, political system and faith. The story noted that Somalia “was a governed by a single party,” but was charitable enough not to call it a dictatorship.
It is governed by a single party
Somalia, a former Italian and British colony, was born as an independent republic on June 26, 1960, when the territories under British administration and on July 1, the territories under Italian administration achieved their independence and united. On October 21, 1969, as a result of a bloodless military coup, the Supreme Revolutionary Council seized power and closed the National Assembly, establishing a one-party regime under the leadership of the Revolutionary Socialist Party in the country. Many foreign companies were nationalized in Somalia, which had the support of the USSR in the first years. However, in Ethiopia, there was a leftist movement. After the military coup, the USSR began to support Ethiopia, ignoring Somalia. However, Somalia was claiming rights in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, claiming that the majority of the population consisted of Somalis. In 1977, it tried to impose this demand by force of arms and declared war on Ethiopia. However, it withdrew in 1978 after Soviet and Cuban soldiers sided with Ethiopia. After these developments, approximately 1.5 million Somali people living in Ethiopia had to seek asylum in the country. Somalia also changed its course to a certain extent in its foreign policy and moved closer to the West. The USA still benefits from the strategic naval base Berbera, which was equipped by the USSR before 1977.
Cumhuriyet then followed up with an additional report when Barre completed the first leg of his visit in Ankara and headed onto Istanbul. It seems the journalist on this story also noted the fact that Somalia was a family fief rather than a full-fledged republic, reporting that Barre’s delegation was made up of family members. He noted that the Somali delegation include Barre’s brother Jama Barre and his son Ajetele Barre, which may have been a curious detail.
Somali President Mohammed Siad Barre, who came to Turkey the previous day for a 4-day official visit, completed his contacts in Ankara and went to Istanbul last night. Somali President Siad Barre met with President Kenan Evren and Prime Minister Turgut Özal in Ankara, arriving with his cousin, Foreign Minister Jama Barre, his son Ajetele Barre and a high-level delegation.
During the official meetings held between Somali and Turkish officials, opinions were exchanged on various world and regional problems, and the issue of Turkey's technical assistance to Somalia was also discussed.
In the statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was stated that Somalia's requests for assistance to Turkey for various projects were handled positively, and that in the first stage, Turkey agreed to provide technical assistance of 100 thousand dollars to be used in the employment of Turkish experts in the cement factory in Berbera. It was also decided in principle to contribute 200 thousand dollars to Somalia within the framework of the United Nations Development Fund projects. Turkey sent food and medical supplies worth $1 million to Somalia in 1985.
At the end of his contacts in Ankara, Somali President Siad Barre made an official invitation to President Kenan Evren. Barre, who performed the noon prayer with Prime Minister Ozal at Kocatepe Mosque, will visit the historical and touristic places of Istanbul. The Somali president will leave Turkey on June 15.Here is a screen grab of the original story which I was able to access courtesy of the Cumhuriyet archives staff, who were kind enough to allow me to search through the archives.
Cumhuriyet’s coverage continued on day three of the official visit when Barre headed to the old imperial capital, and Turkey’s largest city Istanbul. He was treated with a visit to Dolmabahçe Palace and then a Turkish navy yacht called Acar. The journalist on the story interestingly reported (but I’m not sure how) that Barre noted the following in his diary: “It is a work built and maintained by great people.” This is either very meticulous journalism or a brilliant little factoid.
Somali President Mohammed Siad Barre, who came to Turkey for a 4-day official visit, came to Istanbul yesterday after completing his contacts in Ankara.
Barre visited Dolmabahçe Palace in the morning. He listened carefully to the information given to him, especially at the bedside where Atatürk died. His cousin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jama Barre, and his son Ayetele Barre, who came with Siad Barre, later toured the Bosphorus on a navy yacht called Acar. Somali President Barre wrote in his diary as he left the palace, "It is a work built and maintained by great people."
On the penultimate day of Barre’s visit, before he was due to leave Cumhuriyet also reported on the completion of Barre’s tour in Istanbul, where he also went to Sultan Ahmet mosque and Topkapi Palace.
Somalia's president, Siad Barre, completed his tour in Istanbul yesterday. Barre and his entourage visited Ibrahim Pasha Palace, Sultanahmet Mosque and Topkapı Palace, accompanied by Minister of State Hasan Celal Güzel. The guest President watched a part of the concert given by the Mehter band in the garden of Topkapı Palace, then toured the palace and had lunch in Konyali. They also also visited OTİM as part of the afternoon program. Barre and the accompanying delegation examined Turkish textile products and received information from the authorities. The guest delegation then inspected the Islamic Works Research Institute in Yildız. The guest delegation attended the dinner given in their honour in the evening. The President of Somalia and his accompanying delegation, who have been in Turkey for a week, are leaving Turkey today. Here is the original story in dated to the 15th June with an image of what appears to be Siad Barre in the courtyard of Sultan Ahmet mosque.
The final story on Barre’s visit appeared on the front page on the 16th June, albeit a small section on the sidebar. It was also written by Anadolu Agency and not a Cumhuriyet reporter. The Somali delegation were seen off by senior state officials and members of the Turkish armed forces.
After completing his official visit to Turkey as the guest of President Kenan Evren, Somali President Mohammed Siad Barre returned to his country yesterday at 12:05 by plane. The guest president was bid farewell at Ataturk Airport by State Minister and Acting Foreign Minister Hasan Celal Guzel, Istanbul Governor Nevzat Ayaz, 1st Army Commander Lieutenant General Recep Ergun, Deputy Mayor of Metropolitan Municipality Hikmet Bozanoglu, 3rd Corps and Western Command Lieutenant General Fikret Kupeli, and other relevant officials.