Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has expressed gratitude for the recent security cooperation between his country and China, praising Chinese President Xi Jinping's strong support and effective leadership.
The two leaders met twice before, in 2015 and 2024 respectively.
In an interview with China Media Group aired on Friday, Mohamud said Xi left a profound impression on him, while highlighting China's forward progress under his leadership.
"President Xi, of course, is a very strong leader. And I really feel very proud to meet him twice in the last couple of years. And of course, his leadership has proven to be a very, very effective leadership. We really applaud him that he has led China to the right path and to the prosperity that today Chinese people are enjoying. So he is a model, a role model for many people and many countries in the third world particularly and in the less developed countries. That's why I was saying the China way is pursued under the leadership of President Xi," said Mohamud.
In 2025, Somalia and China held their first-ever ministerial-level defense meeting attended by Somali Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur and Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun. The meeting aimed to enhance cooperation in regional stability, counterterrorism, and support for the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia.
"For his recent support to Somalia in the security sector is also highly appreciated. I'm really grateful for him, for what he did for Somalia," the Somali president said.
Somali President praises Xi's leadership, support for Somali security
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has praised the country's long-standing relationship with China as "mature" and rooted in mutual respect, integrity and tangible cooperation.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) which aired on Friday, Mohamud said that China has supported Somalia since independence in 1960 and the major projects of China-Somalia cooperation remain visible and tangible.
"China and Somalia have a long relationship on all these decades. The relationship has always been a very good relationship, mutual respect and integrity based on. So China was supporting Somalia since the first days of the independence, even after 30 years, more than 30 years of difficult eras, civil war, different destructions that happened in Somalia, but still the major projects of the China-Somalia cooperation and relationship and China's support to Somalia is still visible and tangible. And some of those projects are still serving the people like the hospital, the stadium and all these, the highways, are still working for the people of Somalia. So this is a very historic relationship that has now, I can say, matured, and we're working together to further enhance and develop the relationship between Somalia and China," said Mohamud.
Among the projects the president highlighted is the Banadir Hospital, a mother and child hospital that was built with Chinese support in the country's capital, Mogadishu. The hospital has operated continuously for more than 50 years.
"The hospital service [is] not only an ordinary hospital, but it's a mother-and-child hospital. Since 1970s, [for] more than 50 years, that hospital is serving. Even during the Civil War, that hospital remained open and it was serving the people," said Mohamud.
The president also recalled a personal family memory tied to China-Somalia relations. His sister, then a student, was among the children who welcomed Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during a historic visit to the country decades ago.
China-Somalia ties mature, based on mutual respect, integrity: Somali president
