The defense alliance between Saudi Arabia and Türkiye would favor the construction of a possible Turkish naval base on the Sudanese coast of the Red Sea, according to Sudanese sources interviewed by informed Libyan sources, on the prospects for bilateral military cooperation.
According to sources, Riyadh will not oppose such a military presence, unlike in the past, given its new relationship with Ankara within the Mecca Alliance. This refers to the joint defense agreement signed on August 7 by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, which considers an attack against one of the three countries an attack against all. This assessment comes as Ankara develops cooperation with the Sudanese Navy.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that a delegation from the Naval Forces Command and the General Directorate of Naval Shipyards visited Sudan from November 2 to 5. The mission inspected the repair shops and slipway at the Port Sudan naval base, aiming to strengthen Sudan’s shipbuilding capabilities.
During the visit, the delegation also met with the Commander of the Sudanese Navy, Vice Admiral Mahjoub Bushra Ahmed Rahman The Turkish statement describes a technical reconnaissance mission of existing infrastructure; the possibility of a future Turkish base is part of the plans outlined by Sudanese sources. Ankara’s presence on the Sudanese coast has a precedent in the agreements concluded in 2017 for the reclamation of the ancient Ottoman port of Suakin.
The agreement had fueled questions about the site’s possible military use. In 2019, after the fall of Sudanese President Omar al-BashirTurkey had denied reports of the agreement’s cancellation. According to Sudanese sources, the strategic rapprochement between Ankara and Riyadh is now changing the political context in which a Turkish naval presence in the country could develop.
“The Sudanese army’s allies in Russia will be able to use this base,” the sources said, adding that “the leader of the Sudanese Sovereign Military Council, Abdel Fattah al Burhan informed the Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Russia-Africa summit on October 28th”.
