President Hassan Sheikh Receives Senior Pakistan Air Force Delegation at Villa Somalia

MOGADISHU — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud received a senior delegation from the Pakistan Air Force at the Presidential Palace on Sunday, in the highest-level engagement yet between the two countries on rebuilding Somalia’s air force.

The delegation was led by Air Marshal Muhammad Sarfraz, Air Defence Commander and Deputy Commander of the Pakistan Air Force. The delegation arrived in Mogadishu on Saturday and was initially received by Somali Air Force Commander Brigadier General Abdirisaq Mohamud Haji before the Presidential Palace meeting.

The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, Somali National Army Commander Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Mohamud, and Somali Air Force Commander Brigadier General Abdirisaaq Mahmoud Haji.

The discussions focused on advancing the development of the Somali Air Force, with particular emphasis on strengthening its capabilities, improving the quality and training of personnel, and enhancing defence cooperation between Somalia and Pakistan.

A Framework Already in Place

The visit follows a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation signed in Islamabad in August 2026 by Minister Fiqi and Pakistan’s Minister of Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif. The agreement covers counterterrorism, military training, the exchange of expertise, defence capacity building, and broader security collaboration, as detailed in FTL Somalia’s report on the Islamabad meetings.

During that visit, Minister Fiqi also held separate meetings with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf, and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu.

Somalia is also in advanced negotiations with Pakistan to purchase up to 24 JF-17 Thunder fighter jets in a potential $900 million agreement. The deal would mark Somalia’s most ambitious attempt since 1991 to reestablish a sovereign air combat capability, as outlined in FTL Somalia’s reporting on the fighter jet negotiations. The JF-17 Block III is a multirole fighter equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar and beyond-visual-range missile capabilities.

Somalia’s air force effectively collapsed in 1991 with the fall of the Siad Barre government and has not operated modern combat aircraft since. The country’s airspace has largely depended on international partners and foreign military assistance for surveillance and strike operations.

Critical Note

The reception of a senior Pakistan Air Force delegation at the Presidential Palace marks a practical step in implementing the defence agreement signed in August. The focus on air defence carries weight given Somalia’s long-standing lack of sovereign air capability and its reliance on external partners for aerial surveillance and strikes against Al-Shabaab.

The potential acquisition of JF-17 fighters would represent Somalia’s most ambitious military procurement in decades, but financing arrangements remain unclear, and the reported $900 million value far exceeds Somalia’s current defence budget. Pakistan’s engagement in Somalia fits a broader pattern of building institutional access in the western Indian Ocean without committing to a permanent overseas military presence.