Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called on universities and learning institutions across the country to promote and teach the Swahili language.
He described it as key to advancing regional integration within the East African Community (EAC).
Swahili, or Kiswahili, is one of Africa’s most spoken languages. It began along the East African coast through contact between Bantu speakers and Arab traders.
The language mixes African and Arabic words.
Swahili is now an official language of the African Union and the East African Community (EAC).
More than 200 million people speak it in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC.
It is used in trade, education, diplomacy, and media. Swahili helps connect people across East and Central Africa.
Speaking at the opening of the East African Economic Cooperation Conference (EACCON 2025) in Mogadishu, the President said Somalia’s full membership in the EAC presents new opportunities that the country must embrace through linguistic and cultural connection.
“I urge Somali National University and all higher learning institutions to invest in the teaching and development of Swahili. It is the language of East Africa — a bridge for trade, culture, and unity,” said President Hassan.
The President emphasized that Somali universities have a dual role: to generate knowledge and to disseminate it.
He added that learning regional languages would enhance Somalia’s participation in cross-border trade, diplomacy, and social exchange.
Education Minister Farah Abdulqadir, who also addressed the conference, backed the President’s proposal and revealed that the government plans to introduce Swahili into the national education curriculum.
The announcement has stirred mixed reactions among Somalis. Some welcomed the idea as a forward-looking step toward regional integration, while others argued that the government should first focus on strengthening the Somali language and its dialects.
The EACCON 2025 conference has drawn leaders, economists, and scholars from across East Africa to discuss regional cooperation in trade, education, and technology — with Somalia’s participation seen as a milestone in its reintegration into regional affairs.
Somalia applied to join the East African Community (EAC) in 2016.
After years of review and verification, EAC leaders approved its admission in November 2023 during a summit in Arusha, Tanzania.
Somalia signed the Treaty of Accession in December 2023 and ratified it in 2024, becoming the eighth member of the bloc.
Membership gives Somalia access to a market of over 300 million people and strengthens regional trade, security, and cooperation.