Pakistan has signed a defense memorandum with Somalia on cooperation in security and defense. The document was signed in Islamabad on August 4, 2026 by Somalia’s Defense Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi and his Pakistani counterpart Khawaja Muhammad Asif. This was reported by the Somali state news agency.
The stated scope of the memorandum covers counter-terrorism, military training, experience exchange, defense capacity building, and broader security cooperation. One source described it as a five-year agreement, but this information could not be confirmed. Meanwhile, the document does not provide for the establishment of a military base, granting access to ports, or allowing Pakistan to deploy combat forces in Somalia. It is about institutional cooperation, not troop deployment.
Ambitions of the Somali delegation
The Somali delegation included the heads of the country’s naval and air forces, indicating broader intentions than just discussing military training issues. On August 6, Minister Fiqi met with Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. This position was created in Pakistan at the end of 2025, giving one officer authority over all three branches of the military. The meeting took place at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi. Fiqi also met with Chief Marshal of the Air Force Zahir Ahmed Babar Sidhu at the Air Force headquarters.
A naval meeting took place with Admiral Naveed Ashraf, Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan. The parties discussed maritime security in the Indian Ocean, as well as the development of naval forces and the coast guard of Somalia. The delegation also visited the National Defense University and Global Industrial and Defence Solutions, a state-owned defense manufacturer of Pakistan. The latter point on the agenda may indicate that it is not just about training, but also about possible equipment supplies.
India’s reaction and context
On Friday, August 7, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India, Randhir Jaiswal, was asked about the agreement during a regular media briefing held twice a week. His response was cautious. He stated that India continues to closely monitor the developments in relations between Somalia and Pakistan. His response regarding Somalia consisted of only one sentence. Subsequent comments about India’s long-standing ties with Africa and its development cooperation with countries that diplomats call the Global South were part of the same response but pertained to the second part of the journalist’s question about the India-Africa summit.
This restrained reaction should not be seen as a sign of concern. At the same time, India was directly asked about the agreement and provided a brief response without refusing to comment. The context is also important: the Indian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia since 2008. Therefore, Pakistan’s naval cooperation with Somalia in the same waters touches on the rivalry between the two countries, which usually unfolds much closer to their own borders.
Strategic significance of the Somali coast
The coast of Somalia runs along the Gulf of Aden and to the approaches to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, through which a significant portion of trade between Europe and Asia passes. Today, it is one of the most tense shipping corridors in the world. According to the International Maritime Bureau, piracy off the coast of Somalia has returned to its highest level in a decade: in the first seven months of 2026, 13 incidents were recorded compared to 5 in all of 2025. It is this practical problem that the coast guard is supposed to help solve.
Somalia already has the largest foreign military training base of Turkey. On July 21, 2026, the parliament of Turkey extended its mandate for another two years. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and China also have interests in this region. The addition of Pakistan to this list does not displace other partners but makes Mogadishu’s system of security ties more complex.
For shipping in the Gulf of Aden, the size of insurance premiums for military risks and the choice of routes depend on whether the situation off the coast of Somalia stabilizes or, conversely, deteriorates. An increase in the number of foreign fleets interested in developing Somalia’s maritime potential could generally have a stabilizing effect. At the same time, competing external partners could contribute to the formation of separate, unrelated Somali forces, which has already led to fragmentation in the country’s security sector. Turkey trains some units, while other countries work with others.
For Mogadishu, the logic of this cooperation is simpler than it may seem from a geopolitical point of view. The government, which is not yet able to independently ensure control over its own coastline, is ready to accept training assistance from any reliable partner that offers it. An indicator of real results will be whether Somali sailors and aviators begin training in Pakistani institutions within the next year. Memorandums are easy to sign, but training programs and the actual allocation of places will show how serious this cooperation is.
Source: The Rio Times
