Cabinet of Egypt
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, the Egyptian Prime Minister, and his Somali counterpart, Hamza Abdi Berri, chaired an expanded discussion session at the Cabinet headquarters. To discuss ways to enhance cooperation relations between the two countries in various fields.
Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar Gomaa, Minister of Endowments, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, and Dr. Muhammad Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, participated in the talks from the Egyptian side. Al-Kilani, Minister of Culture, and Ambassador Mohamed Al-Badri, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for African Affairs.
While the talks were attended by the Federal Republic of Somalia, Absher Omar Jameh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Farah Sheikh Abdul Qadir, Minister of Education, Culture and Higher Education, Daoud Awis Jameh, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, and Ambassador Elias Sheikh Abu Bakr, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Somalia to Egypt. And a number of Somali officials.
At the outset of the session, Dr. Mustafa Madbouly welcomed his Somali counterpart and his accompanying delegation to their second country, Egypt, saying: I felt great happiness when the Somali Prime Minister told me that he had learned the Arabic language from Egyptian teachers, which reflects the importance of the historical role played by Egypt to support our brothers in Somalia, stressing in this context that Egypt will have a greater presence in this field during the next stage.
The Prime Minister touched on the high-level communication witnessed last year between the two countries, including the visit that President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud made to Egypt in July 2022, as well as the phone call that took place in September 2022 between the presidents of the two countries, as well as the meeting that took place. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, took place on the sidelines of the Arab Summit in Algeria. Dr. Mustafa Madbouly also referred to his participation in the inauguration ceremony of the Somali President, last June, stressing the importance of building on this positive momentum in relations.
Madbouly indicated that Egypt is closely following the political and development developments in Somalia, expressing the Egyptian state’s solidarity with the challenges facing the Republic of Somalia, especially those related to living conditions in light of the current severe drought crisis, as well as efforts to combat terrorism.
In this context, he referred to the Egyptian aid that was sent to Somalia recently, which included medical and food aid.
With regard to joint economic cooperation, the Egyptian Prime Minister indicated that Somalia has promising opportunities in terms of trade and investment, especially in the fields of agriculture, animal and fish production, which opens up opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in these fields.
Madbouly explained that the Egyptian contracting sector has great experience in the field of reconstruction and infrastructure projects, benefiting from its strong presence not only in the Middle East but in a large number of African countries, stressing the Egyptian state’s keenness to have a strong presence in this sector in Somalia during the next stage.
The Egyptian Prime Minister also touched on ways to enhance joint diplomatic cooperation between the two countries, as well as Egypt’s close follow-up of developments related to activating the role of the African Union Mission in Somalia in its new form, ATMIS.
During the session, the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia thanked the Egyptian state for the warm reception and hospitality that the Somali delegation received in Egypt, pointing out that this visit comes in response to the invitation of Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, within the framework of the common desire to consolidate relations between the two countries and push them to higher levels. Especially since it is a relationship steeped in history, pointing out that Somalia has always been important to Egyptian and Arab national security, just as Egypt has always been strongly present in Somalia.
Berri conveyed the greetings of the Somali President to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and thanked him for the great role played by President El-Sisi in supporting the Somali people. He also congratulated the Egyptian state on its success in organizing the COP27 climate summit, appreciating the establishment of a fund for losses and damages as a result of the summit.
He also expressed Somalia’s aspiration to benefit from this fund in the matter of climate finance, as well as to benefit from Egyptian expertise in dealing with the effects of climate change.
In the field of economic cooperation, the Somali Prime Minister indicated that his country has an estimated livestock wealth of 40 million heads of livestock, in addition to 8.5 million hectares of agricultural land, expressing Somalia’s aspiration to benefit from Egyptian expertise in the fields of agricultural, animal and fish investment, as well as to benefit from Egyptian expertise. In the use of technology in the provision of services, the field of health care, mother and child centers, infrastructure and renewable energy.