CHARLESTON, West Virginia — Somalia’s petroleum and mineral resources ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with the US state of West Virginia aimed at strengthening cooperation in the exploration, production and processing of critical minerals, officials said.
The agreement is intended to establish a framework for boosting investment, technical knowledge exchange and the development of value chains in Somalia’s emerging mining sector.
Somalia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Dahir Shire Mohamed, signed the deal on behalf of the federal government, while Kris Warner signed for the US state during a ceremony held at the state Senate building.
A Somali delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama attended the event alongside regional officials. On the American side, members of the state Senate took part, including Senate President and Lieutenant Governor Randy Smith.
During the proceedings, the state Senate also adopted a formal resolution supporting the partnership, underscoring what officials described as the strategic importance of closer economic and technical ties with Somalia.
The memorandum outlines cooperation in several key areas, including joint exploration and extraction of critical minerals, development of local processing capacity to increase domestic value addition, exchange of technical expertise and the promotion of investment and business partnerships between institutions and companies from both sides.
