The Somali ambassador to Ankara has stated that Turkey will step up its efforts in training police and intelligence forces in Somalia after the recent bombing attack on the Turkish mission in Mogadishu by al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, adding that Turkish support was valuable.
“We cannot predict such terrorist attacks due to the lack of strong institutions in our country. If we had strong institutions as in Turkey, we would be able to prevent such attacks from happening. When we rebuild our institutions, our country will be secure. Turkey and Somalia have inked deals on training police and intelligence forces. Now, we are waiting for our police forces to be trained in Turkey,” Mohamed Sheikh Abdirahman told Today’s Zaman in an exclusive interview.
The agreement between Turkey and Somalia to establish cooperation mechanisms in the field of training forces was signed in May 2010 and approved by Turkish Parliament last November.
Abdirahman maintained that after the attack, the two countries further enhanced their ties over the cooperation of forces. “This cooperation is very important for Somalia. After 20 years of instability, such a proposal from a big country like Turkey is appreciated by the Somali people,” said the envoy, adding that training the intelligence forces is also of great importance.
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