Turkey’s Erdogan arrives in Mogadishu, set to open new embassy (Pictures)

Muqdisho (SDN) – Turkish president Raccep Tayyib Erdogan touched down in the Somali capital Friday to open a new beachfront embassy and to launch new Turkish development projects in the horn of Africa nation.

Accompanied by the first lady and members of his cabinet, Erdogan who’s visiting Mogadishu on the last leg of his week-long East Africa trip is expected to hold talks with Somali leaders including president Hassan Sheikh Mohamed who received him at the Mogadishu airport.

Security has been tightened across Somali capital with hundreds of soldiers from Somali government and African Union forces are patrolling the city’s streets, putting the city on a lockdown during the high profile visit.

eHis visit, the third since 2011 comes one day after an Al Shabab attack on a hotel in Mogadishu killed at least 18 people including two of the country’s legislators. 40 others were injured during the siege which lasted more than 12 hours.

Referred as a ‘hero’ by many in Somalia, Erdogan’s who became the first non-African leader to visit Mogadishu last year has long advocated for a greater support for the impoverished horn of Africa nation which is recovering from decades of war.

The Turkish government had spent more than $500 million in humanitarian and development aid to Somalia after a devastating famine hit the country in 2013, making it the largest recipient of Turkish aid in Africa.

The Turkish government also continues to undertake major projects in Somalia in a bid to jump-start the Somali economy shattered by the decades old conflict.

Turkey is a major ally for Somalia as it became the first non-African administrations to resume formal diplomatic relations with Somalia since 1991 after warlords overthrew the central government.