Somalia’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ali Mohamed Omar, presented a review of the country’s diplomatic performance over the past four years during a lecture at the Ministry’s headquarters in Mogadishu on Saturday, an event organized by the Ministry’s Diplomatic Institute to promote public understanding of Somalia’s foreign policy.
The presentation lands at a moment when Somalia is pushing to expand its international footprint under the government’s National Transformational Plan (2025–2029), a roadmap aimed at regional stability, economic integration and stronger global influence — making the Ministry’s own account of its progress a marker of how far that push has come, and how far it still has to go.
The session drew Permanent Secretary Hamza Adan Haadow, Ministry directors and staff, government officials, and students from Somalia National University and Mogadishu University.
Omar’s remarks touched on four areas: deeper bilateral and multilateral partnerships, expanded economic diplomacy, efforts to safeguard Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a stronger international profile for the country.
According to the Ministry, the session was intended to reinforce public engagement with diplomatic policy, particularly among students likely to enter government or foreign service.
Omar, now serving his second term in Somalia’s Parliament, previously served as Chief of Staff to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud during the president’s first term from 2014 to 2017. Before entering politics, he spent two decades as a senior software engineer at IBM in the United States.
The Ministry is currently led by Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali, appointed in a 2025 cabinet reshuffle, under whom Somalia has expanded its participation in regional and continental bodies, including the African Union.
The Ministry closed the session by reaffirming its commitment to Somalia’s foreign policy priorities and to strengthening international partnerships in support of peace, stability and sustainable development.
No timeline was given for the Ministry’s next public briefing on diplomatic progress.
