By ABDULKADIR KHALIF

Burundi Foreign Minister Albert Shingiro on Monday met with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Mogadishu to discuss security cooperation, with the future of the African Union peacekeeping forces in focus.

Officially, Villa Somalia said Mr Shingiro was delivering a message from Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye.

The message, the Somali presidency said, was to underline Burundi’s appreciation of Somalia’s peace and stability and its importance for the region (Eastern Africa) and the world.

Mr Ndayishimiye is currently the chair of the East African Community (EAC), and his country is also among the troop-contributing countries (TCC) to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis), which has until December 2024 to exit the country and handover duties to Somali security forces.

Somalia’s application to join the EAC is currently under review, and it could become the eighth member of the bloc by the time Atmis exits Somalia next year.

Source: The East African