The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Bayraktar, announced the beginning of discussions for cooperation in the mining sector with Somalia. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar stated that following the discovery of oil, discussions have commenced for collaboration in the mining sector with Somalia. Turkey had sent a seismic exploration ship to Somali waters last year to search for oil and natural gas using its offshore oil discovery fleet. The agreement between the two countries was later expanded to include onshore oil and gas exploration. Bayraktar revealed on social media platform X that he had met with Somalia’s new Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Dahir Shire Muhammed, and his delegation in Istanbul. Bayraktar also mentioned that half of the seismic exploration in the three blocks allocated by Somalia to Turkey has been completed, and they discussed the future phases of exploration activities and potential new partnerships in onshore areas. Bayraktar affirmed, “We have decided to initiate a new collaboration process in the mining sector.”