Wednesday July 8, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Regional mobility across the Horn of Africa took center stage in Mogadishu this week as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development opened high-level talks with Somali stakeholders on ratifying, domesticating and implementing the IGAD Protocol on Free Movement of Persons.
The three-day consultations have brought together senior participants to clarify responsibilities, shape a national roadmap and examine wider regional plans, among them the IGAD Interoperable ID and the IGAD Single Visa.
Participants are expected to review concrete measures for speeding up the protocol’s rollout and creating a coordinated framework that eases the movement of people and goods among IGAD member states.
Officials said the proposed framework aims to expand regional mobility while protecting national security and remaining consistent with domestic legal systems.
Dr. Mohamoud Kaarshe, IGAD’s head of mission to Somalia, said cross-border movement is already part of daily life in the region, with people travelling for employment, education, business, family reunification and humanitarian needs.
He said member states now need to ensure those movements are managed through legal systems that are secure, predictable and well coordinated.
Abdulkadir Mahmoud Yusuf, director of the Africa Department at Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the talks underline Somalia’s importance in regional commerce and connectivity.
“We are pleased to host a conference of this nature in Somalia,” Yusuf said. “It is an important forum focused on the movement of people, and it reinforces Somalia’s position as a strategic hub for trade and regional connectivity.”
The IGAD Protocol on Free Movement of Persons gives citizens of member states the right to enter, stay, move freely, study and work across the Horn of Africa region.
The agreement seeks to deepen regional integration and reduce the impact of climate-related disasters. It also sets out mechanisms for interoperable identification systems and single visas.
Somalia signed the IGAD Protocol on Free Movement of Persons on March 5, 2023, in a move aimed at advancing regional integration, economic cooperation and labor mobility.
