Mogadishu (Somalia Today) – Somalia and the European Union have agreed to hold new technical talks on migrant returns and readmission, as Brussels seeks closer cooperation with Mogadishu on irregular migration, human trafficking and the return of Somali nationals from Europe.
The two sides reached the agreement during the first EU-Somalia Partnership Dialogue, held in Mogadishu on May 10 under the Samoa Agreement, the framework governing relations between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific states.
The meeting brought together Somali ministers, EU diplomats and representatives of European missions working in Somalia. The talks covered the rule of law, security, migration and economic cooperation.
Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama led the Somali delegation, while Ambassador Francesca Di Mauro led the EU side.
Under the migration agenda, both sides agreed to hold a third technical dialogue on returns and readmission “at the earliest convenience” to identify obstacles and improve cooperation.
Returns and readmission
In EU policy language, returns and readmission refer to cooperation with countries of origin on taking back nationals who do not have a legal right to remain in Europe.
That can include people whose asylum claims have been rejected, those who have overstayed visas or those who lack valid residence status.
The issue remains sensitive in Somalia, where many families have relatives in Europe and where insecurity, poverty, lack of jobs, climate shocks and displacement often drive migration.
The joint statement did not announce deportation numbers, name specific European countries or say the two sides had agreed on forced returns.
Instead, it placed the issue within a wider migration agenda that includes tackling the root causes of irregular migration, fighting migrant smuggling and human trafficking, improving migration data and promoting legal migration pathways.
The two sides also discussed support for internally displaced people and efforts to prevent irregular migration towards Europe.
Dignified returns
The statement said both sides discussed “safe and dignified returns” and sustainable reintegration for people who return to Somalia.
Somalia has previously worked with the EU and the International Organisation for Migration to return Somali migrants stranded in Libya under voluntary humanitarian return programmes.
In December 2024, 147 Somali migrants returned from Libya with support from the Federal Government of Somalia, the EU and IOM.
The charter flight first landed in Hargeisa, where 31 migrants disembarked, before continuing to Mogadishu with 116 others. The returnees included young migrants and several minors.
Somalia’s foreign ministry said at the time that the operation formed part of an EU-funded programme implemented by IOM, which provides returnees with immediate cash grants, medical care, psychosocial support, onward transportation and reintegration assistance.
The ministry said the December flight brought the number of Somali migrants returned from Libya under the programme to 844.
Migration pressure
Migration has become one of the EU’s most politically charged issues, with several European governments seeking faster returns of people who cannot legally stay.
Brussels has increasingly linked migration cooperation to wider partnerships with countries of origin and transit, including development support, border management, legal migration and reintegration programmes.
But rights groups have warned that return programmes need strong safeguards and should not send people back into insecurity or poverty.
Somalia also faces its own complex migration and displacement pressures.
A 2025 report by Somalia’s National Bureau of Statistics said migration and displacement continue to shape the country’s demographic, social and economic landscape.
The report described Somalia as a country of origin, transit and destination, with mobility patterns driven by humanitarian, economic and environmental factors.
The EU-Somalia statement said both sides welcomed the creation of Somalia’s National Coordination Mechanism, saying it would strengthen inter-governmental action on migration.
For Mogadishu, the talks offer a way to shape migration cooperation while insisting on safe and dignified treatment for Somali nationals abroad.
For Brussels, the dialogue opens another channel to manage irregular migration from the Horn of Africa at a time when European governments face pressure to enforce return decisions.
The two sides agreed to hold the next EU-Somalia Partnership Dialogue in 12 months.
