Türkiye’s OYAK group and Somalia’s Fisheries and Blue Economy Ministry have signed a cooperation agreement on fisheries activities in Somalia's territorial waters.

It will provide the Turkish fishing industry with access to Somali waters, which contain one of the world's richest fish reserves, and is intended to open new job opportunities to Somali people and expanding the country’s reach in global trade.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday by Somali Minister of Fisheries and Blue Economy Ahmed Hassan Aden and OYAK General Manager Murat Yalçıntaş.

Those in attendance at the ceremony in Ankara were Somali Minister of Ports and Marine Transport Abdülkadir Muhammed Nur, Türkiye National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and Türkiye Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu. Also present was OYAK Board Chairman Zekai Aksakallı.

The agreement “encompasses the centralised, sustainable, and registered management of fishing activities in Somalia, the protection of marine resources, and the licensing, monitoring, and regulation of all fishing activities in Somalia's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone,” the Türkiye Ministry of National Defence said in a statement.

Within the scope of the agreement, the SOMTURK Company was established to manage all licensing processes related to fishing activities in Somalia's exclusive economic zone.

“Within this framework, fishing permits in Somali territorial waters will be issued exclusively by SOMTURK; activities will be recorded, monitored, and supervised," the statement said.

The agreement strengthens economic cooperation between the two countries and targets at increasing employment through the development of fish processing.