Mogadishu, (SONNA) – The Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs of the Federal Government of Somalia, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Ali, received a high-level delegation from Türkiye’s Diyanet Foundation at his office in Mogadishu.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from both sides, including Ustaad Mohamed Haji Ibrahim and Yusuf Hassan Mursal, senior advisors at the Ministry. The Diyanet delegation was led by Mr. Ahmed Akça, a member of Türkiye’s National Education Policy Committee and the Diyanet Governing Board. He was joined by Mr. Fatih Kurt, Mr. Furqan Mustafa Akçakıl — Diyanet’s Regional Education Coordinator for Africa — and Mr. Omar Farouk Arslan, the organization’s representative in Somalia.
Discussions focused on enhancing the long-standing partnership between Somalia’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs and Türkiye’s Diyanet Foundation. Key areas of cooperation included establishing a Somali National Waqf (endowment) institution, capacity-building programs for ministry staff and Waqf personnel, and expanding access to religious education scholarships for Somali youth and Islamic scholars.
The visit concluded with a tour of the Ministry’s new headquarters, where the Turkish delegation expressed support for continued collaboration in strengthening Somalia’s religious institutions and education systems.
The meeting marks another step forward in Somalia–Türkiye relations, particularly in advancing mutual goals of spiritual development, institutional capacity, and community empowerment.
