WEBVTT
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There's a space space being built on a beach in Somalia,
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an actual launch site for satellites, and maybe even a
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lunar program, and plans to test ballistic missiles. Some of
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this has got a lot of people upset. Israel is
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not amused. That might be because the country building that
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base is not even Somalia, It's Turkey. How did this
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even come about?
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So say, Takey is successful in its own way and
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to its benefit because of taking risks that no one
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else is taking.
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To understand, we have to look at one of the
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most effective Africa strategy projects of the last two decades,
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because Turkey has been playing a long game here for more.
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I spoke to dw's Istanbul correspondence Dorian Jones what Turkey.
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Sees Africa as one of the most important relationships that
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it will have in the future, both from an economic
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point of view and from a strategic point of view.
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Ankara has been building relationships for a while. An indicator
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of how important Africa is for a ship type Airdouan
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the diplomatic presence. When he came to power, Turkey had
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embassies in only twelve African countries. Now it has more
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than three times as many. Turkey has a plan and
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it has been sticking to it. First open new embassies
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and consulates. Then Turkish Airlines adds new routes, which means
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it is now the biggest airline on the continent. Trade
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and investment have massively expanded, and then development and humanitarian
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aid follow along with infrastructure and logistic projects. Turkish companies
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have specialized in building airports and roads across the continent.
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Turkey is also building mosques, reviving an Ottoman Empire era
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religious presence in the region. And underneath it all runs
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a harder layer security, drone sales, military training, and defense
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pacts what Ankara calls drone diplomacy.
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It's a whole package that when you buy the drones,
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you buy a relationship with Turkey and it's seen as
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a longtime relationship that then moves potentially other fields of
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trade into development. It's all part of this inter connectivity
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approach that Turkey is adopting, and the drones have become
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a very important part of that.
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Turkey is basically supplying its military tech in exchange for
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influence and access to resources. Because Turkey is also trying
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to secure what Africa has under the ground oil, gas,
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uranium resources. It needs to reduce its own dependence on
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important energy. Oh and they're also looking for gold.
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Turkey has also shown a villainness to remain engaged, especially
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during the periods of conflicts and political instability, especially and
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even international pressure, rather than withdrawing than conditions became very difficult.
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That's one way Turkey is trying to get ahead of
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its rivals in the Middle East, especially Israel. The two
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countries relationship has soured in recent years, and Africa is
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one more arena where that rivalry is playing out. But
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more on that later. So you see Turkey offers African
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partners a whole package trade and investment, development, aid and
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military assistance. But isn't that what everyone else has been
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trying to do in Africa. Well, it's actually not because
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size matters. In this case, being smaller is better for Turkey.
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Turkey is a middle power. It doesn't have the capacity
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or the you know, the resources to dominate when it's engaged,
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so its limitations also, you know, help Turkey to engage
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with those countries, and you know, counterbalancing, playing a counterbalancing role.
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For instance, in Saha counterbalancing Russia.
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We hear this many times, both from African leaders but
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also African businesses. When we deal with Turkey, it's a
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it's a relationship of equals rather than being the small
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power dealing with a much bigger power. And I think
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that that opens the door to a much more cooperation.
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In short, Ankaha can present itself as a benevolent power,
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a broad power, one that treats African countries as equals.
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They respect us is a line often heard and if
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in Africa Turkey is welcome in Somalia, it's the sultan
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that goes back a long way. Turkey's international broadcaster is
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hyping up their relationship. Even before he became president, Aduan
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visited Mogadishu at the height of a devastating drought. He
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was the first non African leader to set foot in
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Somalia since the civil war began in nineteen ninety one.
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For the Prime Minister Erdogan to come in twenty eleven
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and go into the IDP camps at the height of
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the Alchabab insurgency when al Chabab was in the city.
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At that time, al Chabab had still not left Mogadishu.
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That was a huge risk and it paid off just.
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Look at the map the Horn of Africa and Somalia.
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In particular, Sydney strategic choke points not just the gateway
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to the Red Sea, but the western shore of the
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Indo Pacific two and close to major trade and energy corridors. France,
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China and the US all have bases next door in Jibuti.
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Aduan chose Somalia instead. Since that visit in twenty eleven,
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Turkey has put a billion dollars into the country and
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become a major player in Somalia. For instance, it opened
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its biggest army training camp abroad, Turksum, in the capital Mogadishu,
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where it trains the top ranks and future top ranks
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of Somalia's army and police. Turkish drones back the Somali
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commando fighting the Islamist insurgency movement al Shabab, and in
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twenty twenty four, a crisis pushed Mogadishu even further into
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Ankara's arms. Somalia's neighbor, Ethiopia, was set to recognize Somaliland,
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a breakaway region that's technically part of Somalia.
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So we were faced by what we perceived as an
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existential threat where you know, the unity of Somalia has
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always been inviolable, and the idea that Somaliland and Ethiopia
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would go into an MoU I think jerked the government
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into action, and they went to Teki as an actor
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to intervene to provide support.
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Turkey did step in, it mediated and the dispute was diffused.
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Ethiopia did not recognize Somaliland. Turkey and Somalia then signed
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the Naval Pact. Turkish forces would rebuild Somalia's feet and
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patrol its waters. In exchange, Turkey takes thirty percent of
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the country's Exclusive economic zone revenue, including fishing off shore.
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The stakes are even higher. Somalia seabed may hold tens
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of billions of barrels of oil and gas. A separate
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deal gives Turkey ninety percent of that revenue. Turkey has
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become indispensable.
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I would say they have huge, huge leverage on the
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current government.
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With all that influence, there are growing questions in the
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country about what they are doing with it.
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We have given them right to oil, we have given
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them right to our fisheries. So at the moment there's
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a mixed feeling about Turkey, where I would say a
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lot of population or the population are asking are this
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agreements fair? Are they in our favor or are they
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favoring Turkey.
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Those doubts about Turkish intentions are also being fueled by
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another big project in Somalia, God using air.
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What are you go.
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Erit?
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Cha La, you do it?
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You guessed it. We are back to the Somali beach
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and to Turkey's dream of going to the Moon. About
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seventy kilometers up the coast from Mogadishu, in the town
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of Washeh, Turkey has been building a space base since
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October twenty twenty five. The installation costs about three hundred
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and fifty million dollars, which is kind of cheap. When
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it's finished, it will make Turkey the thirteenth country in
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the world with its own gateway to space. Here in
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the satellite imagery you can see it being built over
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the last few months. Why here, Part of the answer
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is just physics and geography. Really, Somalia sits near the equator,
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which makes launches cheaper and let's rockets carry more and
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anything that falls falls into the ocean, which is not
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an option for Turkey at home. Turkey says it will
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let other countries launch from here. Four feet and make
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the whole thing pay for itself, and it has plans
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to launch more than just satellites from here.
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Long rage ballistic missiles require very long safety corridors, an
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open sea and minimal civilian air a maritime routes traffic,
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so Black Sea does not have these qualities.
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We do know that Turkish forces are in that location,
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not working on Somali security or Antias operations, but specifically
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protecting the build up of that space station.
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If it becomes a missile test site, washe would not
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only be a space project, it would give Turkey real
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military reach into the Indian Ocean and beyond, including major chokepoints,
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Western military bases, and Gulf capitals. All of that is
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maybe why Israel is less than thrilled about this project.
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Israeli officials are watching this very closely, and analysts you
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have described the spaceport as a potential strategic threat for Israel,
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although so the missa narrative is currently a head of
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any official confirmation. But I think what's important to mention
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is that the spaceport here is not being seen as
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a purely civilian project.
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Israel is also suddenly interested in Somaliland. They are the
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only country to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent state,
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and they hosted its president just recently.
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Our friendship is seminole and historic, so I'm very very
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happy and I'm very proud of this day.
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Because of its location near thebab Amandeb Strait, Somaliland provides
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Israel with a strategic foothold in the Red Sea to
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counter mainly Iranian influence. We're talking here in particular about
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the Iran backed husi's in Yemen who have launched missiles
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at Israel and post the threat also to international shipping
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in the area. Now, I think for Israel recognizing Somaliland
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has a lot to do with the Iran War at
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the moment, but Turkey's growing influence in the region certainly.
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So. The space project in Somalia is being built where
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Turkey is in this growing rivalry with Israel.
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And that mentality is certainly feeding not only in both
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Turkey and Israel, but also in the region where when
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any country has a growing presence in one place, they
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see that potentially is a threat against the other. And
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this writing tension is a concern, and Israel has in
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the past shown that if it believes something is a threat,
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a direct threat to that country, they are prepared to act, which.
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May be one more reason the two countries are watching
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each other's move across the Horn of Africa more closely
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than ever. We'll see how these tensions play out. Turkey
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has been pursuing a long term plan in Africa, smartly
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becoming indispensable to a number of countries on the continent.
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Somalia is the best example of that. But this Turkish
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success story also comes with risk. It might show just
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how jumpy other players could become when you grow from
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being a clever business partner in a handful of countries
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into a full fledged regional power broker.
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There's a space space being built on a beach in Somalia,
2
00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:07.120
an actual launch site for satellites, and maybe even a
3
00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:12.400
lunar program, and plans to test ballistic missiles. Some of
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this has got a lot of people upset. Israel is
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not amused. That might be because the country building that
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base is not even Somalia, It's Turkey. How did this
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even come about?
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So say, Takey is successful in its own way and
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00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:30.640
to its benefit because of taking risks that no one
10
00:00:30.679 --> 00:00:31.480
else is taking.
11
00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:33.399
To understand, we have to look at one of the
12
00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:37.320
most effective Africa strategy projects of the last two decades,
13
00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:41.079
because Turkey has been playing a long game here for more.
14
00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:46.079
I spoke to dw's Istanbul correspondence Dorian Jones what Turkey.
15
00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:50.960
Sees Africa as one of the most important relationships that
16
00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:54.759
it will have in the future, both from an economic
17
00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:57.079
point of view and from a strategic point of view.
18
00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:01.159
Ankara has been building relationships for a while. An indicator
19
00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:04.239
of how important Africa is for a ship type Airdouan
20
00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:08.120
the diplomatic presence. When he came to power, Turkey had
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00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:11.920
embassies in only twelve African countries. Now it has more
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00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:15.200
than three times as many. Turkey has a plan and
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it has been sticking to it. First open new embassies
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00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:23.719
and consulates. Then Turkish Airlines adds new routes, which means
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it is now the biggest airline on the continent. Trade
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00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:33.200
and investment have massively expanded, and then development and humanitarian
27
00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:38.799
aid follow along with infrastructure and logistic projects. Turkish companies
28
00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:42.480
have specialized in building airports and roads across the continent.
29
00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:47.000
Turkey is also building mosques, reviving an Ottoman Empire era
30
00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:50.719
religious presence in the region. And underneath it all runs
31
00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:55.319
a harder layer security, drone sales, military training, and defense
32
00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:58.519
pacts what Ankara calls drone diplomacy.
33
00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:01.760
It's a whole package that when you buy the drones,
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00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:05.640
you buy a relationship with Turkey and it's seen as
35
00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:09.439
a longtime relationship that then moves potentially other fields of
36
00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:14.599
trade into development. It's all part of this inter connectivity
37
00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:17.960
approach that Turkey is adopting, and the drones have become
38
00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:19.360
a very important part of that.
39
00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:23.360
Turkey is basically supplying its military tech in exchange for
40
00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:27.759
influence and access to resources. Because Turkey is also trying
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00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:31.800
to secure what Africa has under the ground oil, gas,
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00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:35.599
uranium resources. It needs to reduce its own dependence on
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00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:38.960
important energy. Oh and they're also looking for gold.
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Turkey has also shown a villainness to remain engaged, especially
45
00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:52.360
during the periods of conflicts and political instability, especially and
46
00:02:52.680 --> 00:03:00.479
even international pressure, rather than withdrawing than conditions became very difficult.
47
00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:03.159
That's one way Turkey is trying to get ahead of
48
00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:06.919
its rivals in the Middle East, especially Israel. The two
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00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:10.800
countries relationship has soured in recent years, and Africa is
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00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:13.879
one more arena where that rivalry is playing out. But
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00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:17.719
more on that later. So you see Turkey offers African
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partners a whole package trade and investment, development, aid and
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military assistance. But isn't that what everyone else has been
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trying to do in Africa. Well, it's actually not because
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size matters. In this case, being smaller is better for Turkey.
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Turkey is a middle power. It doesn't have the capacity
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or the you know, the resources to dominate when it's engaged,
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so its limitations also, you know, help Turkey to engage
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with those countries, and you know, counterbalancing, playing a counterbalancing role.
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For instance, in Saha counterbalancing Russia.
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We hear this many times, both from African leaders but
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also African businesses. When we deal with Turkey, it's a
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it's a relationship of equals rather than being the small
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power dealing with a much bigger power. And I think
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that that opens the door to a much more cooperation.
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In short, Ankaha can present itself as a benevolent power,
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a broad power, one that treats African countries as equals.
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They respect us is a line often heard and if
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in Africa Turkey is welcome in Somalia, it's the sultan
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that goes back a long way. Turkey's international broadcaster is
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hyping up their relationship. Even before he became president, Aduan
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visited Mogadishu at the height of a devastating drought. He
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was the first non African leader to set foot in
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Somalia since the civil war began in nineteen ninety one.
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For the Prime Minister Erdogan to come in twenty eleven
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and go into the IDP camps at the height of
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the Alchabab insurgency when al Chabab was in the city.
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At that time, al Chabab had still not left Mogadishu.
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That was a huge risk and it paid off just.
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Look at the map the Horn of Africa and Somalia.
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In particular, Sydney strategic choke points not just the gateway
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to the Red Sea, but the western shore of the
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Indo Pacific two and close to major trade and energy corridors. France,
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China and the US all have bases next door in Jibuti.
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Aduan chose Somalia instead. Since that visit in twenty eleven,
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Turkey has put a billion dollars into the country and
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become a major player in Somalia. For instance, it opened
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its biggest army training camp abroad, Turksum, in the capital Mogadishu,
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where it trains the top ranks and future top ranks
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of Somalia's army and police. Turkish drones back the Somali
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commando fighting the Islamist insurgency movement al Shabab, and in
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twenty twenty four, a crisis pushed Mogadishu even further into
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Ankara's arms. Somalia's neighbor, Ethiopia, was set to recognize Somaliland,
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a breakaway region that's technically part of Somalia.
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So we were faced by what we perceived as an
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existential threat where you know, the unity of Somalia has
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always been inviolable, and the idea that Somaliland and Ethiopia
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would go into an MoU I think jerked the government
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into action, and they went to Teki as an actor
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to intervene to provide support.
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Turkey did step in, it mediated and the dispute was diffused.
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Ethiopia did not recognize Somaliland. Turkey and Somalia then signed
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the Naval Pact. Turkish forces would rebuild Somalia's feet and
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patrol its waters. In exchange, Turkey takes thirty percent of
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the country's Exclusive economic zone revenue, including fishing off shore.
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The stakes are even higher. Somalia seabed may hold tens
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of billions of barrels of oil and gas. A separate
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deal gives Turkey ninety percent of that revenue. Turkey has
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become indispensable.
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I would say they have huge, huge leverage on the
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current government.
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With all that influence, there are growing questions in the
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country about what they are doing with it.
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We have given them right to oil, we have given
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them right to our fisheries. So at the moment there's
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a mixed feeling about Turkey, where I would say a
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lot of population or the population are asking are this
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agreements fair? Are they in our favor or are they
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favoring Turkey.
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Those doubts about Turkish intentions are also being fueled by
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another big project in Somalia, God using air.
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What are you go.
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Erit?
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Cha La, you do it?
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You guessed it. We are back to the Somali beach
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and to Turkey's dream of going to the Moon. About
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seventy kilometers up the coast from Mogadishu, in the town
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of Washeh, Turkey has been building a space base since
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October twenty twenty five. The installation costs about three hundred
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and fifty million dollars, which is kind of cheap. When
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it's finished, it will make Turkey the thirteenth country in
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the world with its own gateway to space. Here in
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the satellite imagery you can see it being built over
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the last few months. Why here, Part of the answer
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is just physics and geography. Really, Somalia sits near the equator,
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which makes launches cheaper and let's rockets carry more and
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anything that falls falls into the ocean, which is not
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an option for Turkey at home. Turkey says it will
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let other countries launch from here. Four feet and make
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the whole thing pay for itself, and it has plans
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to launch more than just satellites from here.
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Long rage ballistic missiles require very long safety corridors, an
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open sea and minimal civilian air a maritime routes traffic,
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so Black Sea does not have these qualities.
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We do know that Turkish forces are in that location,
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not working on Somali security or Antias operations, but specifically
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protecting the build up of that space station.
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If it becomes a missile test site, washe would not
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only be a space project, it would give Turkey real
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military reach into the Indian Ocean and beyond, including major chokepoints,
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Western military bases, and Gulf capitals. All of that is
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maybe why Israel is less than thrilled about this project.
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Israeli officials are watching this very closely, and analysts you
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have described the spaceport as a potential strategic threat for Israel,
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although so the missa narrative is currently a head of
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any official confirmation. But I think what's important to mention
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is that the spaceport here is not being seen as
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a purely civilian project.
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Israel is also suddenly interested in Somaliland. They are the
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only country to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent state,
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and they hosted its president just recently.
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Our friendship is seminole and historic, so I'm very very
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happy and I'm very proud of this day.
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Because of its location near thebab Amandeb Strait, Somaliland provides
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Israel with a strategic foothold in the Red Sea to
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counter mainly Iranian influence. We're talking here in particular about
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the Iran backed husi's in Yemen who have launched missiles
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at Israel and post the threat also to international shipping
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in the area. Now, I think for Israel recognizing Somaliland
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has a lot to do with the Iran War at
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the moment, but Turkey's growing influence in the region certainly.
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So. The space project in Somalia is being built where
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Turkey is in this growing rivalry with Israel.
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And that mentality is certainly feeding not only in both
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Turkey and Israel, but also in the region where when
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any country has a growing presence in one place, they
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see that potentially is a threat against the other. And
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this writing tension is a concern, and Israel has in
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the past shown that if it believes something is a threat,
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a direct threat to that country, they are prepared to act, which.
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May be one more reason the two countries are watching
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each other's move across the Horn of Africa more closely
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than ever. We'll see how these tensions play out. Turkey
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has been pursuing a long term plan in Africa, smartly
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becoming indispensable to a number of countries on the continent.
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Somalia is the best example of that. But this Turkish
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success story also comes with risk. It might show just
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how jumpy other players could become when you grow from
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being a clever business partner in a handful of countries
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into a full fledged regional power broker.
