On the morning of September 6, 2024, President Xi Jinping met with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who is in China for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The two heads of state announced the elevation of the China-Somalia relationship to a strategic partnership.
Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Somalia enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges. Somalia is the first East African country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and the friendship between the two countries has withstood many tests. China is ready to work with Somalia to uphold the original aspiration of establishing diplomatic relations and push for more new achievements in bilateral relations to better benefit the two peoples.
Xi Jinping emphasized that both China and Somalia shoulder the historical mission of achieving complete national reunification. China supports Somalia in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and supports the peace and development process in Somalia. The two sides should firmly support each other on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns. China is willing to continue to support Somalia's economic and social development, tap cooperation potential and expand development space with Somalia, and take the implementation of the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, fishery and human resources training. China will continue to provide financial support to the international peacekeeping mission in Somalia and support Somalia in enhancing its capacity for independent development, counter-terrorism and maintaining stability. Xi Jinping congratulated Somalia on its election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and its official accession to the East African Community. China is ready to strengthen multilateral cooperation with Somalia to safeguard international justice.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud congratulated China on successfully hosting the FOCAC Beijing Summit. The series of major global initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping, such as the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and the major measures to jointly advance the modernization of Africa and China announced at the opening of the summit yesterday, meet the common aspirations of the peoples of Africa and the world for peace and development, and are highly appreciated by the Somali side. He expressed the belief that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China will surely be able to build itself into a strong modern country on all fronts as scheduled and lead Africa and the world in achieving common development. He thanked China for supporting Somalia in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and providing valuable assistance to Somalia's economic development. Somalia aspires to achieve security and stability, regards China as a reliable and trusted partner and friend, and hopes to continuously deepen bilateral friendly cooperative relations. The Somali side firmly abides by the one-China principle.
During the summit, China and Somalia signed bilateral cooperation documents in radio and television, among other fields.
Wang Yi was present at the meeting.
