Mogadishu, Somalia – Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Tuesday officially opened the 2nd East African Community Cooperation Conference (EACON2025) in Mogadishu, marking another milestone in the country’s growing role within the East African bloc.
In his keynote address, President Mohamud highlighted Somalia’s historic legacy as a hub of trade and seafaring along the Indian Ocean, reaffirming his government’s commitment to advancing economic integration, regional security, and collective prosperity across East Africa.
“The majority of expatriates working in Somalia today are from East African countries. This shows how deeply interconnected our region already is,” President Mohamud said.
“Somalia’s active participation in the EAC will not only strengthen those bonds but open new opportunities for all partner states.” He added.
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He also praised Somali entrepreneurs for driving national development through investments in education, health, and infrastructure–urging them to build stronger business partnerships with counterparts across the region.
The two-day summit has drawn senior officials from all EAC member states, Somali government representatives, and regional business leaders. Delegates are focusing on boosting trade, cross-border investment, and joint responses to shared challenges in agriculture, energy, fisheries, and digital innovation.
For Mogadishu, hosting the event for the second time carries symbolic weight. Once defined by decades of conflict, Somalia is positioning itself as a bridge in regional cooperation. The conference, officials say, is as much about symbolism as it is about substance–projecting Somalia as a committed member of the EAC’s political and economic architecture.
Somalia became the eighth full member of the East African Community in March 2024, joining Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its admission was hailed as historic: the bloc, home to more than 300 million people, now stretches from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.
Membership gave Somalia access to new trade corridors, a common market, and stronger collective bargaining power–while also committing it to aligning policies with regional standards. For a country rebuilding its institutions, the challenge has been how to transform membership into tangible benefits for ordinary citizens.