Summarized by Dawan Africa
Africa has emerged as a strategic priority in Türkiye’s evolving intelligence, security and trade policies, reflecting a broader shift in Ankara’s regional and global outlook amid intensifying competition from the Sahel to the Red Sea.
The change was underscored by Ibrahim Kalın, Director of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), who recently described Africa as a “strategic priority,” signaling that the continent now occupies a central place in Türkiye’s intelligence and security doctrine.
In an article published by Daily Sabah, writer Göktuğ Çalışkan says the designation reflects more than a rhetorical shift. He notes that Africa has moved to the heart of Ankara’s security thinking as Türkiye adapts to a changing geopolitical environment marked by rival interventions and growing competition across Africa’s strategic corridors.
The writer says Türkiye is expanding what it calls “intelligence diplomacy,” stretching from Libya and Somalia to Sudan and several Sahel and East African states, including Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Kenya. This approach, he notes, seeks to shape security dynamics through early warning, mediation and institutional cooperation, rather than limiting intelligence work to observation or reactive counterterrorism.
Libya, the writer notes, has become a key testing ground for this doctrine. He says Ankara has used intelligence channels to manage fragile cease-fires, deter spoilers and protect energy and trade corridors, while avoiding the prolonged military overreach that has complicated other external interventions. The Libyan experience, he adds, illustrates how Türkiye combines field awareness with support for political processes aimed at preventing a return to full-scale conflict.
Somalia represents the second major pillar of the doctrine. The writer says Turkish engagement there blends counterterrorism cooperation against al-Shabab with long-term investment in state institutions and defense capacity. Intelligence cooperation supports military training, police reform and infrastructure development, linking security assistance to a broader state-building agenda. In this context, Somalia is treated as a strategic partner whose stability is essential to the security of the Horn of Africa and the western Indian Ocean.
More from Somalia
The writer notes that Sudan completes this strategic arc and directly connects Türkiye’s Africa policy to the Red Sea basin. Turkish intelligence activities there are framed as efforts to contain regional spillover from Sudan’s civil war, which has been worsened by external arms flows and rival interventions across the Red Sea. Ankara, he says, emphasizes dialogue, de-escalation and protection of civilian and commercial corridors rather than proxy warfare.
According to the writer, the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa have become the sharpest testing ground for Türkiye’s approach, as global trade disruptions, the war in Sudan and the fallout from the Yemen conflict have turned the corridor into one of the world’s most contested maritime spaces. He notes that Türkiye’s intelligence presence is expanding alongside that of other regional and external actors, but with a stated focus on working through state institutions and long-term partnerships.
The writer says this doctrinal shift is underpinned by what Kalın describes as a “preventive intelligence paradigm,” integrating human, technical and open-source intelligence, increasingly supported by artificial intelligence, to detect risks early and neutralize threats before they escalate. Operations in Africa, he notes, are now viewed as extensions of Türkiye’s broader security perimeter rather than distant engagements.
Security considerations are closely linked to economic interests. The writer notes that trade between Türkiye and Africa exceeded $37 billion in 2024, with Ankara targeting $40 billion in 2025. Turkish contractors have completed roughly 2,000 projects worth about $100 billion across the continent. Trade volumes have risen nearly eightfold since 2003, while the number of Turkish embassies in Africa has increased from 12 to 44. Turkish Airlines now serves more than 60 destinations in about 40 African countries.
The writer says intelligence cooperation helps protect airlines, supply chains and infrastructure projects, while expanding trade and connectivity enhance Ankara’s leverage and legitimacy in security partnerships.
At the same time, he notes that the expanded footprint exposes Türkiye to complex risks, including political instability, insurgencies and maritime insecurity. How Ankara manages these challenges, the writer concludes, will shape whether its Africa-focused intelligence doctrine is seen as a stabilizing middle-power model or another layer in an increasingly crowded strategic landscape.
More from Somalia

New Modern Market Project Set to Transform Livestock Trading in Garissa

1,500 Livestock Stolen in Laikipia Raid as Governor Irungu Vows Action




