A Turkish naval delegation has visited Port Sudan Naval Base to assess how Türkiye can help strengthen the Sudanese Navy’s shipbuilding capability. Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defence (MSB) said the delegation, made up of officials from the Turkish Naval Forces Command and the General Directorate of Shipyards, visited Sudan from 2 to 5 November. It inspected the base’s repair workshops and slipway and called on the commander of the Sudanese Navy.
What the ministry said
In a statement on its social media accounts, reported on 9 November by the Demirören News Agency (DHA) and ANKA, the ministry said the delegation travelled to Sudan “to inspect the repair workshops and slipway at Port Sudan Naval Base and to increase the shipbuilding capability of the Sudanese Naval Forces Command”. The delegation also paid a courtesy call on the Sudanese Navy commander, Vice Admiral Mahjoup Bushra Ahmed Rahman.
According to Asker TV, the talks covered cooperation between the two navies and ways to improve the Sudanese Navy’s shipbuilding facilities. The ministry did not say whether any agreement was signed, which vessels or facilities might be involved, or what timeline is envisaged. DefenceMENA did not find a Sudanese statement on the visit at the time of publication.
Turkish defence analyst Umut Çağrı Sarı drew attention to the visit on X, describing it as “a significant rapprochement between Türkiye and Sudan”.
Why it matters
Port Sudan is the main base of the Sudanese Navy and the country’s principal Red Sea port. It has also served as the seat of the army-led government for much of the war. A slipway and repair workshops are basic infrastructure for maintaining and building patrol craft. The involvement of Türkiye’s General Directorate of Shipyards, which oversees the Turkish military’s naval shipyards, and the ministry’s stated aim of increasing Sudan’s shipbuilding capability point to cooperation on ship maintenance and construction infrastructure. No specific projects have been announced.
The visit is the latest in a series of Turkish naval engagements around the Red Sea and Africa. During the Friendship Sea-2026 exercise off Alexandria, the Turkish Navy commander said Ankara aims to build warships jointly with Egypt on the model of its MILGEM partnership with Pakistan, as DefenceMENA reported. Turkish frigates have also recently escorted a Turkish fishing vessel off Somalia, which DefenceMENA covered.
What is not known
- Whether the visit will lead to a formal agreement, and what it would cover: repairs, training, new vessels or upgrades to the Port Sudan facilities.
- How the Sudanese government and navy describe the visit and its outcome.
Sources
- Türkiye Ministry of National Defence statement, as reported by DHA, 9 November 2026: dha.com.tr
- ANKA News Agency, 9 November 2026: ankahaber.net
- Asker TV, 9 November 2026: askertv.com
- Deniz Haber, 10 November 2026: denizhaber.net
- @umutcagrisariii, X post, 9 November 2026: x.com
Method: the visit and its purpose are taken from the Turkish Ministry of National Defence statement as reported by Turkish news agencies. No Sudanese statement was found.