Mogadishu, Somalia — Somalia’s National Security Adviser has said the country’s seats on the United Nations Security Council and African Union Peace and Security Council mark a turning point in its recovery.
Awes Hagi Yusuf Ahmed said Mogadishu was no longer merely the subject of international security decisions. Somalia, he said, was now helping shape them.
In an opinion article published by Al Jazeera on Thursday, Ahmed said Somalia’s expanding role in global and continental security forums showed the country was rebuilding its diplomatic weight.
Ahmed, National Security Adviser to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said the shift followed decades of conflict, state collapse and foreign-led stabilisation efforts.
He said Somalia had spent decades as a country discussed by others in powerful international forums. Outside actors, he said, had shaped policy on its security, sanctions, peacekeeping and humanitarian needs.
That era, he argued, was changing.
Somalia was now “shaping the agenda on the table”, he wrote. He framed the country’s simultaneous presence on the UN and AU security bodies as both a symbolic and practical shift in its foreign policy.
The article signals a broader government message: Somalia wants to move from being treated as a crisis file managed by outside powers to becoming an active player in major security decisions.
Those decisions include counterterrorism, peacekeeping, sanctions, humanitarian access, development financing and climate security.
Crisis file to policy voice
Somalia won a seat on the UN Security Council in June 2024 for a two-year term running from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026.
The vote returned Somalia to the council for the first time in more than five decades.
The country also won a seat on the AU Peace and Security Council in February for the 2026-2028 term.
That gives Mogadishu a place in Africa’s main decision-making body on conflict prevention, crisis response and peace operations.
For Somalia, the two roles carry unusual weight.
The UN Security Council has repeatedly shaped Somalia’s modern security landscape. Its decisions have affected sanctions, peacekeeping mandates, arms embargoes and international support missions.
The AU council has also played a central role in Somalia’s security transition. Successive African Union missions have supported the government in its war against Al-Shabaab.
Ahmed said Somalia’s presence in both bodies changed a long-standing imbalance.
For years, other actors often made decisions affecting Somalia while Somali voices remained absent or marginal.
He said the memberships were not merely ceremonial. The two councils adopt resolutions, authorise missions and shape the legal and diplomatic frameworks that affect countries facing conflict.
His argument places diplomacy at the centre of Somalia’s national security strategy.
It also comes as Mogadishu continues to rely on international security partnerships while trying to build stronger national institutions.
Security and state-building
Somalia’s new diplomatic profile comes as the country remains locked in a long-running war with Al-Shabaab.
The Al-Qaeda-linked group has fought successive governments for nearly two decades. It still carries out deadly attacks despite losing territory.
The African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia, known as AUSSOM, became operational on January 1, 2025.
It replaced the AU Transition Mission in Somalia.
Its mandate includes supporting Somali forces against Al-Shabaab, protecting civilians and enabling stabilisation. It also helps Somali institutions gradually take over security responsibilities.
Ahmed’s article sought to connect that security transition with Somalia’s growing diplomatic role.
He said Somalia could use its seats in the UN and AU bodies to align international commitments more closely with national priorities.
Those priorities include counterterrorism, stabilisation support, humanitarian access, development financing, climate security and inclusive politics.
The message fits President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s stated vision of a Somalia “at peace with itself, and at peace with the world”.
Ahmed cited the phrase as a guiding idea behind the government’s diplomatic and security approach.
The op-ed also seeks to present Somalia as a voice for countries whose concerns are often overshadowed by powerful states in global decision-making.
Those include African states, Arab and Muslim countries and least developed nations.
Ahmed argued that Somalia’s own experience of rebuilding institutions after conflict gives it credibility. He said it could advocate for inclusive peace processes, security rooted in development and fairer participation in global affairs.
A test of credibility
But Somalia’s diplomatic gains come with heavy expectations.
The country still faces Al-Shabaab attacks, unresolved federal-regional tensions, humanitarian pressures and climate shocks.
It also remains deeply dependent on external security and financial support.
Its claim to greater international influence will depend not only on the seats it holds, but on how effectively it uses them.
Ahmed acknowledged that greater influence also brings greater responsibility.
He said Somalia must show consistency, respect for international norms and credible partnerships as it navigates complex diplomatic forums.
The article’s central message, however, was optimistic.
It casts Somalia’s new security roles as evidence that the country is no longer defined only by crisis. Instead, it said Somalia was increasingly defined by participation, recovery and state rebuilding.
For a country long associated with conflict and external intervention, Ahmed said the shift marked a move “from isolation to engagement”.
That framing reflects the government’s attempt to turn Somalia’s international roles into a wider political narrative.
It suggests the country is no longer waiting for others to decide its future. Instead, Somalia is trying to shape it from inside the rooms where those decisions are made.