Somalia and Türkiye have formally started implementing a long-standing labour cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening ties in labour, employment and social policy, officials said.
Ministers from both countries met in Ankara on Tuesday to revitalise a memorandum of understanding signed in 2016 between Somalia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and Türkiye’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
The launch marks Somalia’s first major labour collaboration with Türkiye in years. Türkiye’s Labour Minister Vedat Işıkhan and Somalia’s Labour Minister Salim Alio Ibro led the talks, which were attended by Somalia’s Ambassador to Türkiye, Fathudin Ali Mohamed Ospite, and several other senior officials from both governments.
‘Practical results’
“The relations between Türkiye and Somalia have grown stronger over the years and now have a strategic character,” Işıkhan said at the meeting.
“We want this cooperation to produce clear and practical results,” he added.
Tuesday’s meeting was the first session of a joint working commission set up to oversee cooperation between the two ministries.
The ministers signed a joint protocol and a two-year action plan covering 2026–2027, outlining 15 priority areas for collaboration.
According to officials, the action plan focuses on job creation, vocational training, workplace safety, labour inspections and the improvement of social services.
It also includes cooperation on managing labour migration and developing national job standards.
“This agreement will help strengthen Somalia’s labour institutions and improve services for workers,” Somalia’s Labour Minister Salim Alio Ibro said.
Job creation
“It also allows us to benefit from Türkiye’s experience and technical support,” Ibro added.
Officials from both sides said the agreement would be implemented under a clear timetable, with regular technical meetings and exchanges of experts to monitor progress.
A high-level Somali delegation, led by the minister and accompanied by his ministry’s Director General Yusuf Hassan and representatives from regional administrations, is on an official working visit to Ankara to strengthen the capacity of Somalia’s labour and social affairs institutions at both federal and regional levels.
Somalia seeks to expand its labour and social affairs ties with Türkiye as part of a broader effort to improve its labour institutions, create jobs, improve social services, and gain technical expertise from one of Mogadishu’s key international partners.
Türkiye and Somalia have also strengthened cooperation in recent years across security, development, trade, and education, with Ankara emerging as a central partner in Somalia’s national rebuilding efforts.
