Türkiye’s state-owned energy company TPAO and Somalia's petroleum authority signed a deal on joint onshore hydrocarbon exploration in Somalia, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Friday.
"With this agreement, we will carry out oil and gas research operations on Somali land fields," he said without providing details.
Earlier this year, Türkiye and Somalia signed a defence and economic cooperation agreement during a visit to Ankara by the Somali defence minister.
Türkiye has become a close ally of the Somali government in recent years. It has built schools, hospitals and infrastructure and provided scholarships for Somalis to study in Türkiye.
In 2017, Türkiye opened its biggest overseas military base in Mogadishu. It also provides training to the Somali military and police.