Somalia, Turkey discuss cooperation in wake of floods

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Officials from Turkey and Somalia met on Friday in Mogadishu to discuss crucial issues concerning the two countries.

Somalia’s Energy and Water Resources Minister Fawzia Mohamed Sheikh received Turkey’s Ambassador to Mogadishu Mehmet Yilmaz in her office in the capital.

Topping the meeting agenda was the floods in Somalia last month which left over 370,000 people displaced, mostly children.

Local media quoted the Somali official asking for Turkey’s support to “prevent recurrent floods in the rivers, which are difficult to handle and cause more damage to the society.”

Turkey’s Yilmaz, on his part, promised more support for Somalia as his country has provided in the Horn of Africa country since 2011.

Since 2011, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has taken part in over 150 projects in Somalia that include humanitarian and developmental aid.

The meeting came a day after the United Nations issued a statement, saying a combined $18.7 million has been released from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF) to scale up the life-saving assistance to just over half a million people affected by floods in Somalia.

The UN warns the risks of malnutrition and diseases outbreak such as malaria and acute watery diarrhea remains a concern in many flood-affected settlements.

*Mohammed Dhaysane in Mogadishu contributed to this story