Djibouti, 30 Oct. 2025 – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has stated that Somalia’s state-building process is irreversible and will achieve its goals despite security challenges facing the country.
President made the remarks during the 25th anniversary commemoration of the historic Arta Reconciliation Conference held in Djibouti.
Though the state-building journey has not been smooth, the President emphasized that country's statehood is now firmly established and cannot collapse.
“Today, it is impossible for statehood in Somalia to collapse,” he said in the company of his host President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who was instrumental in organizing the conference 25 years ago.
President Hassan stressed that Somalia is currently facing one of its most challenging moments due to ongoing battles against Al-Shabaab and ISIS, which he described as “two of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world today.”
He pledged that Somalia will defeat both groups while continuing to advance governance and economic reforms.
Quoting former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Hassan noted that when Somalis come together to solve their own problems, they do not fail — even if the reconciliation process sometimes takes long.
The President also addressed Somalia’s current power-sharing model based on the 4.5 clan system, saying the country must move beyond it after 25 years and transition to multi-party politics, citing Djibouti’s stability as an example of the benefits of political parties.
“The 4.5 system was meant to last only two years, but it has continued for 25 years. We must move on from personality-based politics to political parties — that is the foundation of Djibouti’s stability and the path successful nations have taken,”he added.
The Arta anniversary event brought together former and current Somali leaders to commemorate the conference that laid the foundations for Somalia’s third republic and resulted in the election of President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan.