Somalias

Somalia Courts German Investment as Mogadishu Seeks to Turn Stability Gains into Jobs On a sweltering Monday in Mogadishu, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre sat down with Germany’s ambassador, Sebastian Groth, for a conversation that was part pitch, part signal. Somalia, he said, has “vast investment potential” in fisheries, industry and livestock. Germany, Groth responded, is preparing to send senior officials to explore those opportunities on the ground. It wasn’t a flashy announcement—no ribbon cuttings, no signed…

Banking on Recovery: How Salaam Somali Bank is Center Stage in Somalia’s Economic Reinvention In a country where the pulse of daily life is often set by drought cycles, clan politics and the steady flow of money from abroad, a bank has quietly become a barometer of Somalia’s recovery. Salaam Somali Bank (SSB), reconstituted in 2009 after decades of state collapse, is positioning itself as more than a commercial lender: it is a public utility, a bridge to the diaspora, and a partner in climate resilience. From…

Jubbaland’s stark warning over alleged abuses in Mogadishu exposes Somalia’s deeper struggle over land, law and power In a sharply worded statement from Kismayo on Thursday, the Jubbaland administration accused security forces in Mogadishu of beating two parents and seizing their property by force—allegations that, if confirmed, would add to a long and painful ledger of evictions and abuses in Somalia’s crowded capital. Jubbaland said the attack occurred on Wednesday and described it as “a tragic incident in which innocent…

Somalia Looks to Kuwait’s Quiet Power as UN Gathering Turns to Deals, Not Declarations On the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud sat down with Kuwait’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, for the kind of conversation that rarely makes headlines but often shapes outcomes. The readouts were restrained: talks of strengthening ties, shared views on regional security, fresh avenues in trade and development. Yet the presence of Kuwait’s…

Somalia’s defence minister breaks silence to defend Ilhan Omar — and signals a new kind of transnational politics When Somalia’s Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi took to Facebook this weekend to defend U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, it read less like a routine diplomatic note and more like an embrace. “If our daughter is being targeted for her identity, I will stand firmly with her,” Fiqi wrote, adding that as defence minister “I am making it clear that I stand with Ilhan.” The statement came after former U.S. President…

Somalia’s Climate Fight Is Also a Battle for Peace — and for Fair Finance On a recent morning along Somalia’s Shabelle River, neighbors climbed onto rooftops clutching documents and schoolbooks as floodwaters surged through villages already battered by years of conflict. It was a scene that has become uncomfortably familiar across the country: people surviving one disaster only to be driven into another. The number of internally displaced people in Somalia has now surpassed 3.8 million — a figure that captures not just the…

Somali president welcomes boxer Ramla Ali, casting sports as a bridge to a hopeful future MOGADISHU — In a carefully staged encounter that mixed ceremony with symbolism, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday welcomed Ramla Ali — the Somali-born, UK-raised boxer who made history as the first Somali to compete in the Olympics — to the presidential palace in Mogadishu. The meeting was brief but pointed: Ali received a certificate of honor from the presidency and words of praise that turned an individual sporting…

In Somalia, a Public Pledge of Loyalty Raises Stakes Ahead of Fragile Elections MOGADISHU — When Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre walked through the departure hall of Aden Adde International Airport this week, he was not merely inspecting toilets and trash bins. He was, in effect, rehearsing a partnership — an explicit commitment to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud that has been rare in Somalia’s recent politics. "I will never run for president against President , who entrusted me to serve Somalia as PM," Hamza said during…

Somalia’s army in pieces: Cowsweyne defeat still reverberates, former president warns When Al-Shabaab overran Cowsweyne in 2023, it did more than seize a strategic town in central Somalia. The militants’ victory cracked open the fragile architecture of the Somali National Army (SNA), scattering frontline units, exposing command fractures and — according to former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed — setting back efforts to rebuild a professional force for years. A rout with consequences “Osweyne was where Somali forces were…

No democracy without a free press: Somalia’s fragile transition under threat On the International Day of Democracy this year, Somalia’s journalists — battered, detained and censored — were given a blunt reminder of what is at stake. The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) recorded 59 incidents of assaults on media freedom across the country in 2025 alone, and warned that Somalia’s long-promised democratic transition will be hollow if those who inform the public cannot work without fear. That message should…