Bayraktar was speaking at a ceremony in Mogadishu to welcome Turkey's Oruc Reis seismic research vessel, which will start searching for oil and natural gas off Somalia's coast under a March agreement.

He said the new accord would expand Turkey's cooperation with Somalia.
"With this agreement, we will carry out oil and gas research operations on Somali land fields," he said without providing details.

Earlier this year, Turkey and Somalia signed a defence and economic cooperation agreement during a visit to Ankara by the Somali Defence Minister.

Turkey 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 Turkey.

--Reuters--