No:036/25, Press release on the visit of the government mission led by Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev to Somalia
05 February 2025 19:06
On 4-5 February 2025, the government mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan, led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Yalchin Rafiyev, paid a visit to the Federal Republic of Somalia with the aim of expanding bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Somalia in political, economic, humanitarian and other fields, as well as continuing the existing high-level cooperation within the framework of international organizations.
During the visit, meetings of the delegation were held with Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia Salah Ahmed Jama, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Dahir Shire Mohamed, Minister of Defense Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur Jama, Minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development Mohamud Beenebeene, Minister of Education, Culture and Higher Education Farah Abdulkadir Mohamed, Director of the National Identification and Registration Authority, as well as senior officials of the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and the Ministry of Livestock, Forestry and Range, and a familiarization visit to the Somalia representation of the Türkiye Maarif Foundation was organized.
During the meetings held, it was brought to attention that contacts between our countries have intensified in recent years and that this has played a useful role in discussing prospects for cooperation. It was also emphasized that there is potential for the development of cooperation in a number of areas, including oil and gas, green energy, agriculture, fisheries, humanitarian and education fields, and that it is important to establish a bilateral legal and contractual framework in the relevant areas.
Within the framework of the visit, the first meeting of political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Somalia was also held. The political consultations were led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Yalchin Rafiyev from the Azerbaijani side and by State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somalia Ali Mohamed Omar Balad from the Somali side. During the political consultations, bilateral political and economic issues, as well as issues of cooperation within the framework of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Economic Cooperation Organization and other international organizations were discussed.
The government mission included representatives of the Ministries of Defense, Defense Industry, Energy, Science and Education, Economy, and Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
