Qatar’s plans to construct a port in the Somali town of Hobyo is the latest step in its aid and development vision in the Horn of Africa, helping to consolidate its relations in the wider region.

Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communication Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti stated on Aug. 19, “The port will achieve multiple economic benefits for Somalia in terms of investment returns and major business opportunities that the port will offer by bolstering the commercial relationship with new markets in Africa and access to global markets, in addition to providing maritime services to vast areas in Somalia.”

Boosting Qatar’s development capabilities across the region, assistant professor at King’s College London Andreas Krieg told Al-Monitor the port will serve as a logistical hub for transhipment to the Hamad Port to increase wider aid deliveries to the region.

This comes amid other Qatar-Somalia developments, particularly as Qatar in July transported 12 terror attack victims from Somalia to a hospital in Doha while Qatar Airways in the same month commenced operations in Mogadishu.