On 4 August 2026, Somalia and Pakistan signed a bilateral defence cooperation memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Islamabad. The pact was finalised by Somalia’s Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi and Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif to boost strategic military ties. On 7 August, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Deterrence Agreement, in what analysts say could be a step towards a new security architecture in the region.

Since Somalia already has strong engagement with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, does this now portend that Pakistan will be involved in the Horn of Africa and possibly Sudan and Libya, where Saudi Arabia and Türkiye have already bloodied their hands?

The Pakistan–Somalia agreement is more significant than the rather modest language of a defence-training MoU suggests. Somalia is certainly security-dependent and strategically anxious, but Mogadishu is also trying to diversify its external partnerships at a moment when the Horn of Africa is becoming an arena of intense Gulf and Red Sea competition.