From di Horn go Orbit: Somalia spaceport and Türkiye technology diplomacy don jam

Türkiye policy for Africa don enter one stage wey influence dem dey measure more by systems than by speech. For Horn of Africa, how people dey talk partnership don dey change because dem dey build infrastructure wey no stop for shore.

Ports, training missions, energy corridors, and now spaceport project don join make one strategy: presence wey dey produce capability.

Make person see Somalia spaceport initiative through this mata. Wetin fit look like small aerospace investment na now dey turn to test of strategic maturity.

E dey ask if one country fit turn diplomatic access to industrial momentum, and if security cooperation fit become platform for long-term technology partnership.

Somalia get geographical advantage

Project cross from ambition go timetable when Türkiye feasibility and design work confirm publicly and dem announce first phase of construction.

Dis mata important because space projects no dey fail because of lack of vision; dem dey fail when logistics, finance, and political patience no fit hold body for long runway.

Somalia advantage simple and steady: location. Launch operations prefer countries wey fit give safe corridors over open water, weather wey dey predictable, and near equator. For world wey every small gain for efficiency fit change payload economics, geography don turn to strategy.

Türkiye basically dey buy new kind access: no be market access but access to trajectory. This strategic logic people wey dey do space sabi; Europe's experience for Kourou show how launch geography fit turn to long-term capability.

Na why dem frame project as three-phase effort. Phased approach dey show institutional discipline, e dey reduce political shock, and e allow ecosystem—materials, propulsion, avionics, ground support—build step by step instead make everything collapse under one big promise.

Türkiye investment for Somalia na extension of dia African engagement strategy.

Pass tech partnership

Relationship between Somalia and Türkiye get clear security side, and that history give spaceport idea political foundation. When country dey train, equip, and help reorganise security structures, e dey build trust wey short visit or press statement no fit copy.

The long-standing military training mission wey dey TURKSOM—wey don dey active since 2017—relevant for one reason: e dey show continuity.

Technology diplomacy dey work when partner believe say relationship go survive headlines and survive crisis. Spaceport by definition na long bet. E need political reliability wey time go prove, no be announcement wey person go do for one week.

Na here Türkiye pitch stand out for Africa market wey full partnership offers. Continent don see many external offers wey dey stop for extraction, procurement, or temporary security fixes. Launch facility structurally different.

E draw education, engineering, regulation, and supply chains enter same orbit. E turn bilateral ties into platform wey other actors go must consider for regional planning.

Spaceport for Somalia go attract attention because e pack prestige, revenue hope, and strategic symbolism into one place.

That one make am magnet for spoilers. Any adversary wey wan discredit state authority go understand how e go benefit dem to disrupt project wey represent 'the future'.

Security therefore become part of design brief. No be perimeter problem only; na institutional problem.

Türkiye advantage be say dem no dey improvise from scratch. Spaceport discussion don join bigger cooperation package wey include security coordination and emerging technologies, framework wey leaders reaffirm and dem report as widening of bilateral engagement enter space sector itself.

Dis one reduce risk say people go treat spaceport as isolated trophy project. E go become one node inside bigger stability-and-development architecture.

Orbit prestige

Space no be luxury domain again. E dey turn to industrial layer wey dey support communications, agriculture monitoring, disaster response, mapping, maritime oversight, and security planning. For countries wey fit offer reliable launch services, the upside no be only symbol; na commercial.

Recent analysis don frame global space economy expansion and the market scale wey Türkiye dey target, including projections wey reach $1.8T by mid-2030s. Whether person dey optimistic or dey cautious about these projections, direction clear: demand dey rise, launch capacity strategic, and late entrants need differentiator.

Somalia fit become that differentiator if dem treat project as regional ecosystem not just single facility. The strongest version of this story no be 'Türkiye launches its own satellites.'

Strong pass be 'Türkiye help create African launch corridor wey go train local talent, build maintenance chains, and offer services to friendly partners.' If that one happen, project go be economically defensible and politically resilient.

Also dey soft-power dividend wey people fit underrate. For Somalia, to host advanced infrastructure fit change story from permanent crisis to future-facing capability.

For Türkiye, e expand national space agenda beyond geographic constraint and turn Africa partnership to visible innovation story—one wey dey speak to youth, engineers, and investors, and connect to wider satellite communications ecosystem wey TÜRKSAT dey anchor.

How to make am work

For initiative to survive long run, hardware actually easy part. Harder thing na credibility. Governance must be transparent enough to convince global insurers, not only local politicians.

Then talent gap dey. Spaceport wey foreign experts dey run finish na only outpost; for real sovereignty, Somali engineers suppose dey hold keys, no be only clipboards. Finally, security no fit be static checklist. For region wey threats fit change overnight, protection must dey as adaptive as the technology itself.

If these conditions meet, Somalia spaceport go represent more than bilateral headline. E go mark maturation of Türkiye technology diplomacy for Africa: influence wey dey built inside hardware, skills, and institutions—then defended through partnership, no be only posture.

For Horn of Africa, power no dey announced well-well. Dem dey assemble am. And sometimes, dem go launch am.

Author, Göktuğ Çalışkan, na PhD candidate and International Relations specialist.

Disclaimer: Views wey author express no necessarily dey reflect opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT Afrika.