MOGADISHU — Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama on Tuesday opened a conference to review the country’s National Regional Integration Strategy, aimed at strengthening economic, trade and infrastructure links between Somalia and other countries in the region.
The meeting was attended by several federal ministers, government officials and technical experts, who discussed ways to advance regional economic integration and expand Somalia’s role in regional trade.
Jama said Africa was emerging as one of the world’s major markets, with countries outside the continent increasingly seeking to trade with African economies. He said Somalia was well positioned to serve as a bridge between Africa and the wider world because of its long coastline, which is among the longest on the continent.
He said one of Africa’s biggest challenges was limited economic integration, noting that trade between African countries remained below its potential. He called for a research-based strategy to ensure Somalia and its people could benefit from the opportunities created by greater regional integration.
The national strategy is expected to set out how Somalia can make better use of its trade routes, ports and border crossings to facilitate commerce, expand markets and attract investment.
It also aims to strengthen economic links between Somalia, the Horn of Africa, East Africa and the wider continent.
