Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has held talks with Massad Boulos, the US Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs, as Mogadishu intensifies diplomatic engagement with Washington and other international partners over security and wider developments in the Horn of Africa.
The meeting took place on October 4, 2026, in Egypt, where Hassan Sheikh was attending the inaugural Alamein Africa Forum alongside other African leaders and senior international officials.
According to the Somali National News Agency (SONNA), the discussions between Hassan Sheikh and Boulos centred on regional and international developments, as well as issues in which Somalia and the United States share interests. The two sides also considered ways of strengthening cooperation between Mogadishu and Washington.
The encounter came against the backdrop of an unusually busy diplomatic schedule for the Somali president, who was in New Alamein as regional leaders gathered for consultations on security, sovereignty, economic cooperation and developments affecting the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea.
Boulos was also among the senior officials participating in the Alamein Africa Forum, which brought together heads of state, government representatives, financial institutions and business leaders to discuss investment, trade, infrastructure, critical minerals and other areas of African economic development.
Hassan Sheikh holds wider talks in Egypt
The US meeting was only one part of Hassan Sheikh’s engagements in Egypt.
On October 3, the Somali president met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on the sidelines of the Alamein Africa Business Forum, with the two leaders discussing Somalia’s internal developments as well as security concerns across the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea.
Egypt reiterated its support for Somalia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and state institutions, while the two presidents agreed on the importance of continued coordination over regional security.
The following day, Hassan Sheikh joined the presidents of Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan for a quadrilateral consultative summit in New Alamein.
The meeting produced a joint declaration in which the four countries committed themselves to greater political, economic and security coordination and reaffirmed the principle of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states in the region.
The declaration also contained several positions directly relevant to Somalia.
The four leaders expressed support for Somalia’s unity and sovereignty and rejected what they described as interference or actions targeting the country’s territorial integrity. They also rejected recognition of, or support for, Somaliland, while backing Somalia’s counterterrorism efforts and calling for sustainable international funding for the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
The leaders further stressed the importance of freedom of navigation and said governance of the Red Sea should remain the responsibility of the states bordering the strategic waterway.
Washington and Mogadishu discuss shared interests
Against this regional backdrop, the meeting between Hassan Sheikh and Boulos gives another indication of the breadth of Somalia’s current diplomatic engagement.
The Somali government and Washington have maintained extensive cooperation on security, counterterrorism and efforts to strengthen Somali state institutions. The two countries have also worked together as Somalia gradually assumes greater responsibility for its own security.
SONNA reported that Hassan Sheikh and Boulos reaffirmed the importance of strengthening the strategic relationship between the two countries and examined opportunities for expanding bilateral cooperation and coordination on regional matters.
Boulos’s presence in Egypt was itself significant to the wider diplomatic picture. The US official was listed among the speakers at the Alamein Africa Forum, placing him at a gathering focused not only on political relations but also on trade, investment, infrastructure and economic partnerships across Africa.
For Somalia, the forum also provided an opportunity to present the country as an emerging investment destination.
During the event, Hassan Sheikh urged African and international investors to explore opportunities in Somalia, saying the country was rebuilding and reforming its economy and was open to trade and investment.