Somali leader departs for Azerbaijan to deepen diplomatic ties VIDEO

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud departed for Azerbaijan today, February 11, marking a significant moment in the growing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The trip comes just eight days after an Azerbaijani delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev, visited Mogadishu, Caliber.Az reports referring to Somali media.

Nasra Bashir Ali, a representative from the Somali Prime Minister’s Office, shared video footage on social media platform X of President Mohamud boarding the plane before his departure.

✈️ Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 pic.twitter.com/RqteqPzWB7

— Nasra Bashir Ali (@NasraBashiir) February 11, 2025

This diplomatic exchange follows a series of discussions between Azerbaijani officials and Somali counterparts on February 5. 

The two sides explored expanding cooperation in several key sectors, including oil and gas, green energy, agriculture, fisheries, humanitarian aid, and education.

The Azerbaijani delegation, which visited Somalia from February 4-5, also held the first round of political consultations between the foreign ministries of both nations. Topics of discussion included strengthening political and economic ties, and enhancing cooperation within the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and other international bodies.

The delegation comprised officials from Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Defence Industry, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Science and Education, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Agriculture, and ASAN Service.

By Tamilla Hasanova