Turkey is reportedly in discussions with Somalia about establishing a site for testing missiles and space rockets in the Horn of Africa, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Ankara’s ballistic-missile program requires long-range testing and Somalia’s location on the eastern tip of mainland Africa is ideal for firing toward the Indian Ocean, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive subjects. The country is close to the equator, making it a suitable site for a space port, they said. Testing near the equator can also help boost the range and efficiency of space rockets.

Turkey has long aspired to join a space race traditionally dominated by global powers, and plans to launch a rocket have been underway for some years. That could potentially be fired from Somalia, the people said. Turkish officials are confident Somalia will agree to its request, the people said. Turkey’s defence ministry declined to comment.

Hussein Sheikh-Ali, national security adviser to Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, declined to comment when contacted by phone on Tuesday. The chairman of the parliamentary sub-committee on defence, Abdi Ahmed Koshin, said he was unaware of any such agreement with Turkey.

Turkey has been working on increasing the range of its domestically-built Tayfun missiles from about 560 kilometers (350 miles), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in 2022. A Somalia launch site would remove the risk of debris falling into residential areas and other countries, the people said.

Turkey is one of the few foreign powers strengthening ties with Somalia as it tries to rebuild after years of clan warfare. Over the past decade, Turkey has expanded its influence through defence cooperation and infrastructure projects, and has plans for hydrocarbon exploration. It’s involved in mediation between the government in Mogadishu, the capital, and leaders in Somaliland, a semi-autonomous region.

Along with the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, Turkey is among the middle-tier powers making inroads across Africa as Chinese investment slows and the US plays catch up.

This report is auto-generated from a syndicated feed