Indian Envoy Meets Somalia Deputy Prime Minister; Education Cooperation In Focus

India and Somalia held discussions on strengthening cooperation in several areas of mutual interest during a meeting between Ambassador-designate Adarsh Swaika and Somalian Deputy Prime Minister Salah Jama.

The discussions took place as Ambassador-designate to Somalia, Adarsh Swaika, called on Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia Salah Jama. The discussions covered key areas of bilateral cooperation and ways to further strengthen it in diverse sectors of mutual interest.

Meanwhile, in a post on X, the Somalian Deputy Prime Minister said that the talks focused on advancing cooperation in areas such as trade, education and cultural exchanges.

He said, "Received Dr. Adarsh Swaika (@AdarshSwaika1), India's Ambassador-designate to Somalia, for discussions on key areas of our longstanding bilateral relationship and advancing cooperation in trade, education and cultural exchange between our peoples."

Earlier this year in January, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had met his Somalian counterpart, Abdisalam Ali. The leaders held discussions on advancing our trade, capacity building, education, health, consular and multilateral cooperation.

In the past few years, both countries have witnessed a number of high-level visits from both sides which have helped further strengthen bilateral relations.

India-Somalia relations are age-old, with strong connections established by traders who sailed through the Indian Ocean to buy and sell goods in the Horn of Africa. The connection still continues with the presence of the Indian business community in Somalia, as per the Ministry of External Affairs.

The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1960, a year after Somalia's independence.

The High Commissioner of India to Mauritius was accredited as Ambassador of India to Somalia. Later, a resident Mission was opened in Mogadishu. High Commission of India, Nairobi, is concurrently accredited to Somalia.