Erdogan: 'Israel must not be allowed to spread smell of gunpowder and blood in our region again'

“With the Islamabad Agreement between Washington and Tehran, the world breathed a sigh of relief,” Erdogan said.

He then added that “any solution that does not rely on the countries of the region will not be sustainable, and no solution can last if it is outside the will of the countries of the region and without their contribution.”

Erdogan also announced a new cooperation plan with Turkey in the energy, transport, critical minerals, information technology and defense sectors, while pursuing a bilateral trade target of $5 billion.

Earlier on Saturday, officials from both countries attended a business forum in Istanbul. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkish firms wanted to contribute to projects in Pakistan and share Turkey’s energy-sector expertise as Pakistan undergoes a transformation of its electricity sector.

Officially announced in December 2025 as a technological partnership between Somalia and Turkey, the spaceport is the most consequential layer in a decade-long project to turn Somalia into a forward operating base.

The construction of this spaceport is the culmination of 15 years of political, military, and economic investment by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, allowing Turkey to increase the range of their ballistic missile program, increasing the potential threat to Israel.

In mid-October 2025, Turkey began work on the base on the outskirts of Warsheikh, approximately 70 kilometers north of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, Le Monde reported.

Esther Davies contributed to this report.