By Asha Elmi - Reporter
Erdogan ANTALYA, 6 October 2026 Construction of Turkey’s planned spaceport in Somalia is underway, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, reaffirming Ankara’s push to expand its access to space through its National Space Programme.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 77th International Astronautical Congress in Antalya on Monday Erdogan said Turkey was developing the spaceport in cooperation with Somalia, which he described as a friendly and brotherly country.
“Taking into account Turkey’s geographical conditions as well, we are laying the foundations for a historic cooperation in the space field with our friendly and brotherly Somalia,” Erdogan said.
He said construction work had been initiated for the spaceport and that Turkey was continuing efforts to implement what he described as a strategic project.
Erdogan said the project would strengthen Turkey’s capacity to access space while also contributing to the development of Africa’s space ecosystem.
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He said producing satellites alone was not sufficient to establish a presence in space, making independent access to space an important part of Turkey’s National Space Programme.
Erdogan also said space exploration should not be limited to a small number of countries and warned against turning space into an arena for an arms race.
“Weaponizing space and turning it into a tool for an arms race is exceedingly wrong, and moreover, dangerous,” he said, adding that Turkey wanted more countries to benefit from opportunities in space.
Turkey and Somalia agreed to develop the spaceport project as part of broader cooperation in the space sector, with the project expected to support Turkey’s long-term ambitions in space access and launch capabilities.