Unlocking the Horn's Potential: Mogadishu Hosts Key Trade Facilitation Talks

Date: 12 June 2025

National delegations from Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI) countries convened in Mogadishu on June 11th and 12th for a regional validation workshop. The purpose was to validate a package of trade facilitation measures designed to boost regional trade within the Horn of Africa.

Intra-regional trade in the HoAI region is particularly small. Only less than 10% of total exports are directed to internal markets, with the overwhelming majority goes outside the region. This indicates that the majority of HoAI countries' trade is conducted outside the bloc.

Development partners supporting the HoAI, including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Commission, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), attended the event remotely to outline their current programs and strategies for supporting increased trade in the region.

The meeting was opened by Hon. Bihi Iman Egeh, Minister of Finance of the Federal Government of Somalia and Chairman of the HoAI, and Hon. Mohamoud Ahmed Adan Geesood, Somalia's Minister of Commerce and Industry.

Ibrahim Ahmed Osman, Director General of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, kickstarted the event with an introductory address to guide participants' discussions. This was followed by a presentation by the World Bank of the objectives of the workshops and the expected outcomes. Delegates from HoAI worked to two proposals and a roadmap aimed to operationalize two key trade facilitation measures included in the HoAI Trade Facilitation Roadmap, specifically on a Simplified Trade Regime for the HoAI region, and the establishment of a Regional Trade Facilitation Committee. These draft texts are slated for presentation and approval by the region's Ministers of Finance and Trade at the upcoming HoAI Ministerial Meeting in July 2025.