Somalia Sends Fisheries Officials to China for Specialised Training

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: Somalia has sent a group of officials from its Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy to China under a scholarship programme aimed at strengthening technical skills and institutional capacity in the country’s growing maritime sector.

The officials have left Mogadishu to take part in advanced training in China, according to the ministry. The programme is part of broader cooperation between the two countries covering education, technical training and professional development for Somali government institutions.

For Somalia, the training comes as the government seeks to build greater capacity to manage its extensive marine resources and turn the country’s coastline into a larger source of jobs, investment and economic growth.

Ministry officials said the programme would give participants additional knowledge and practical skills in areas including fisheries management, marine resource protection and the development of the blue economy.

The training also comes at a time when Somalia is placing greater emphasis on regulating its fisheries sector and strengthening its control over its maritime resources. In April, the Fisheries and Blue Economy Ministry said it had begun issuing fishing licences for vessels operating in Somali territorial waters as part of efforts to strengthen regulation and oversight at sea.

Somalia has one of Africa’s longest coastlines, stretching more than 3,000 km along the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, giving it significant potential in fisheries and other marine industries. But limited infrastructure, technical capacity and concerns over illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing have constrained the sector’s development.

China has also signalled interest in expanding cooperation with Somalia in fisheries and the blue economy. During recent high-level talks between the two countries, officials discussed the sector as an area with potential for sustainable economic growth and greater use of Somalia’s maritime resources.

The latest training programme therefore goes beyond professional development for the participating officials, potentially contributing to Somalia’s longer-term efforts to build the expertise needed to manage its marine resources and develop a sustainable blue economy.