Erdogan in Somalia to open new embassy

Mogadishu: A Somali official said that Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Somalia to open the new Turkish embassy in Mogadishu and launch development projects sponsored by his government.

Ahmad Mohammad, a senior police official, said on Friday that security has been tightened across the Somali capital where Islamist extremists killed at least 15 people in an attack on a hotel late Wednesday. This is Erdogan’s third visit to Somalia, making him the only non-African president to visit Somalia in decades.

During his visit on Friday on the final leg of his East Africa trip, Erdogan is scheduled to hold talks with Somali leaders as the country gears up for a presidential election this year. Ergodan also visited Kenya and Uganda on this trip.