Somalia's strategic depth and investment opportunities for GCC countries

Arriving in Mogadishu in August 2011 with his wife and a large delegation of Turkish officials on his side, Erdogan toured the bullet riddled streets of war-torn Mogadishu and announced that Turkey was opening an embassy in Somalia.

Since then Turkey launched huge development projects in Mogadishu. And Erdogan returned to Somalia as a President in January 2015 and was welcomed by his Somali counterpart at the new Turkish-renovated airport.

Irked by Turkey's ventures in Somalia and with piracy being at its height, the UK government called for an international donor conference on Somalia in London in May 2013. The UK and other donors pledged some $130m (£84m) in aid for Somalia.

The US also recognized the Somali new government for the first times in 20 years when President Barack Obama met President Mahmoud at the White House and later Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the United States' recognition of the Somali government since the American Black Hawk battle in Mogadishu in 1994.

Today, Somalia has come a long way, Al Shabab has almost been defeated as a military force and nearly all areas under their control have been liberated. And with piracy losing its onshore support and its fleet and manpower destroyed by world navies offshore, it succumbed to its death.

This was celebrated by US Secretary of State John Kerry in his first visit to theSomali capital,recently as the first American Secretary of State to visit Mogadishu.

"I visited Somalia today because your country is turning around", he said at a meeting with the Somali President, adding there was "determined international effort" to put virtually all of Somalia's pirates out of business.

The Arab Gulf countries whose trade interest was harmed by Somali piracy as an estimated 7% of the world's oil consumption passed through the Gulf of Aden had also become active in engaging with Somali leaders to find a solution on the ground. The UAE initiated a yearly anti-piracy conference with the aim of re-establishing Somali security institutions as its core purpose.

The war in Yemen again re-awakened the Gulf Arabs to Somalia's strategic importance which prompted Qatar and UAE Foreign Ministers to visit Mogadishu and hold talks with Somali leaders.

One can therefore conclude that apart from its untapped mineral resources and it's underused arable land that if properly invested can easily be a bread basket for GCC countries, Somalia can provide a badly needed strategic depth to the GCC States due to its long coast which is the second busiest international trade route with approximately 23,000 ships amounting to nearly one trillion dollars of trade transiting its waters

Developing Somalia's coast line for tourism, fishing, and prime real estate as well as building modern ports and exploiting the country's ready atmosphere for renewable energy can also change the Horn of African country into a summer resort, a successful investment venture, and a gateway for GCC business to Africa's growing consumer market. Turkey has already taken the lead and China is waiting on the flanks with its ready cash but only time will tell if the GCC countries with their proximity, their open markets, and their historical relations with this Arab League member and Horn of African country can score better results in the scramble for Somalia's lucrative trade and strategic geopolitical position.