By Sayyid Omar

The Federal Government of Somalia will assume the chairmanship of the Horn of Africa Initiative in April 2025, following Ethiopia’s two-year leadership. This decision was reached during the 23rd Ministerial Meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative, held in Addis Ababa, where Somalia’s Minister of Finance, Bihi Iman Igeh, was in attendance. Somalia will officially take over the leadership in Washington, D.C., according to the Somali Ministry of Finance.

The three-month-long meeting focused on reviewing the achievements of the past five years and establishing a new strategy to support development projects across the Horn of Africa.

“The Minister of Finance of Somalia, Bihi Iman Igeh, speaking at the conference, emphasized the importance of prioritizing investment in economic development projects, specifically highlighting the need for Somalia to secure dedicated sources of funding,” stated a press release from the Somali Ministry of Finance.

During Ethiopia’s tenure, the country reported notable progress, including streamlining trade across the region, improving customs systems to ease business operations, and enhancing cooperation among regional institutions to strengthen ties between member states.

“The initiative aimed to raise $15 billion to fund regional infrastructure projects. More than half of that amount has already been secured, thanks to support from international financial institutions,” reported the Ethiopian News Agency.

Established in October 2019, the Horn of Africa Initiative includes Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan. The initiative focuses on infrastructure integration, trade facilitation, addressing natural and human-induced challenges, and developing human resources. Key backers of the initiative include the African Development Bank, the European Union, and the World Bank. Recently, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa also joined as partners.