Somalia: Somaliland to Participate in Athens Defence Summit 2026

6 March 2026
Horn Diplomat (Hargeisa)
By Mohamed Duale

Athens — Somaliland's Minister of Defense Mohamed Yusuf Ali will participate as a speaker at the Athens Defence Summit 2026, an international security forum scheduled to take place in the Greek capital on May 20-21.

The summit will be held under the auspices of Greece's Ministry of National Defence, along with the country's state defense companies Hellenic Defence Systems and Hellenic Aerospace Industry, according to organizers.

The two-day event will bring together political leaders, military officials, defense industry executives and security analysts to discuss global security challenges, the future of warfare and the evolution of international alliances.

Among the confirmed speakers are Frans Timmermans, former Executive Vice President of the European Commission and former foreign minister of the Netherlands; General Sir Ralph Wooddisse, commander of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps; Gus Bilirakis, a member of the United States House of Representatives; Ehud Olmert, former prime minister of Israel; and General Sir Nick Carter, former chief of the defence staff of the United Kingdom.

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Other participants include Andrés Pastrana, former president of Colombia and president of the Christian Democrat International; Gilles Kepel, special envoy of French President Emmanuel Macron for the Mediterranean; Matthew Boyle, Washington bureau chief of Breitbart News; and Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European commissioner.

Discussions at the summit are expected to focus on transatlantic defense cooperation, the integration of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies into military strategy, and evolving deterrence structures amid growing global competition.

The event will also examine security developments across Africa and the Middle East. Participants including Monica Juma, Kenya's national security adviser; General Robert Kariuki Kibochi, former chief of the defence forces of Kenya; Greg Mills, strategic adviser to the president of Zambia; Mohamed Yusuf Ali, Somaliland's minister of defense; and Shoresh Ismail Abdulla, minister of Peshmerga affairs of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government, are expected to discuss regional security architecture, defense modernization and maritime stability.

Several members of the Greek government are also scheduled to speak, including Nikos Dendias, Greece's minister of national defence, along with other senior officials responsible for the country's economy, digital governance, energy and maritime affairs.

Organizers say the summit aims to strengthen dialogue between Europe, the Middle East and Africa on defense cooperation and strategic stability.

(Reporting by HornDiplomat News Desk)

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