NAIROBI: The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Government of Somalia, Abdisalam Abdi Ali, participated in the Ministerial Meeting on United Nations Security Council Reform, held on the sidelines of the inaugural Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi. Ambassador Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle also attended the high-level gathering, which brought together African foreign ministers, senior officials, and international partners to advance the continent’s longstanding demand for permanent representation on the UN’s most powerful body.
The summit, co-hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron over two days from May 11 to 12, convened more than 30 African heads of state and government, alongside business leaders, investors, and representatives of international organisations. The ministerial meeting on Security Council reform, held on the margins of the summit, reaffirmed Africa’s united position on the issue. African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf reiterated the continent’s call for full and permanent representation on the Security Council as a matter of justice, legitimacy, and global stability. Several participating nations stressed that any credible reform must grant Africa two permanent seats, including the right of veto, as well as an increase in elected non‑perennial African members.
Somalia has been an active voice in these reform efforts. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud previously called for an urgent overhaul of global governance at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa in February, demanding a permanent seat for Africa on the Security Council and describing the continent’s exclusion as a “historical injustice” that requires immediate review. “Africa’s lack of permanent representation on the UN Security Council is a historical injustice that requires immediate review,” he stated at the time, echoing a long‑standing collective demand. He also urged sustained diplomacy and unity to achieve a reformed international system grounded in justice and equality. President Mohamud further used Somalia’s January 2026 presidency of the Security Council to amplify Africa’s call, accelerating the continent’s case for institutional reform and challenging the post‑1945 architecture of the UN to reflect twenty‑first‑century geopolitical realities.
Somalia currently holds a non‑permanent seat on the Security Council for the 2025-2026 term, having been elected in June 2024 with 179 votes in the UN General Assembly — the first time the country has served on the Security Council in more than five decades. The country also assumed the rotating presidency of the Security Council in January 2026, a diplomatic milestone that provided a direct platform to advocate for the continent’s reform priorities.
The Africa Forward Summit, held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, focused on strengthening Africa-France partnerships across economic growth, digital transformation, energy, and reform of the international financial system. The minister’s engagement in Nairobi reaffirms Somalia’s commitment to advancing Africa’s collective positions on global governance reform and leveraging its current presence on the Security Council to advocate for a more inclusive and representative international order.
