Mogadishu (KAAB TV) – The Somali Immigration and Citizenship Agency convened a high-level three-day meeting in Mogadishu alongside a delegation from the Finnish Immigration Service led by its Director-General, to bolster bilateral cooperation in immigration, border-management and security.
During the talks, held over three days, the parties focused on:
Enhancing joint efforts in border management and immigration regulation, recognising the growing complexities of migration flows.
Strengthening frameworks for combating organised crime, including human-trafficking, illicit migration networks and cross-border crimes, via closer cooperation between Somali and Finnish immigration/security authorities.
Addressing the challenge of illegal immigration, particularly in the context of Somali nationals residing in Finland without legal residence status, and exploring mechanisms for return, reintegration and readmission.
Deepening institutional linkages between Somali bodies (such as SICA) and their Finnish counterparts, to promote structured collaboration, information-sharing and capacity building.
This conference comes at a time when many individuals of Somali origin are among the immigrant communities in Finland — a reminder of the longstanding migratory ties between the two countries, and of Finland’s interest in readmission and migration-management cooperation.
For Finland, part of its development-and-migration policy links co-operation on returns and readmissions to broader development aid to Somalia.
Finland has a Somali-speaking diaspora of roughly 20,000-22,000 persons, making the Somali community one of the largest African-origin groups in Finland.
The Finnish Government has suspended new development-aid decisions to Somalia under its bilateral country-programme until “concrete progress” is achieved in readmission cooperation of Somali nationals.
The Somali side has expressed willingness to engage in dialogue on these issues, and past visits by Finnish officials (including the Interior Minister) to Mogadishu have featured discussions on these topics.
This conference marks a significant step in the evolving relationship between Somalia and Finland: from development-partners toward stronger migration-management partners.
It signals Somalia’s increasing role in international migration governance, and Finland’s strategic interest not only in immigration control but also in partnerships that align with its foreign-aid priorities.
This is an opportunity to secure capacity-building assistance, technical cooperation and better institutional linkages with European migration-systems.
Such cooperation helps in establishing legal and organisational frameworks for return/reintegration, while also supporting development goals aligned with diaspora engagement programmes.
The meeting may signal future regulatory shifts — including more structured dialogue on returns, reintegration support and migration-status clarifications.
It would be useful to track any memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed, operational protocols agreed, timelines for launch of joint initiatives, and the follow-up mechanisms established by both sides.