Minister Saad Ali Shire, of Somaliland is confirmed at the 6th Forum Brazil Africa

Somaliland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Saad Ali Shire is confirmed as speaker at the 6th Brazil Africa Forum. He joins with other important names of the public sector like the former Minister of Health of Brazil José Gomes Temporão, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities of Guinea-Bissau Conceição Nobre Cabral, and diplomat Celso Amorim, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Brazil.

The 6th Brazil Africa Forum will be held in the city of Salvador on November 22 and 23, 2018, with the theme “Youth Empowerment: Transformation to Achieve Sustainable Development”. The event will bring together great international leaders who are interested in fostering Brazil’s relations with the African continent, contributing to greater integration and dialogue.

Saad Ali Shire was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somaliland in October 2015. He had been previously Minister of Planning and National Development from 2012 to 2015. The minister held senior positions in the development sector taught at the Agricultural College of the Somali National University and worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Bank.

Economist and agricultural engineer, Dr. Shire studied agriculture at the University of Havana, Cuba, and at the Somali National University, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree. He then attended Pennsylvania State University, USA, where he earned a masters degree and a PhD in Agricultural Economics.

Shire is a founding member of many academic institutions and professional associations, including Hargeisa University, Burao University, Somali Agriculture Society, Somaliland Economic Association, Somaliland Association of Statistics and the Somaliland Society UK.

A nation under construction

Despite holding regular elections and having its own currency, government institutions and diplomatic relations with international nations, Somaliland does not officially exist. Former British protectorate incorporated in 1960 to what at that time was known as Italian Somalia, the country had its independence proclaimed in 1991 after a civil war. Since then Somaliland struggles to be recognized internationally.