Somalia reopened its embassy in the United Kingdom after 32 years, with ambassador Abdulkadir Ahmed Kheyr, Olympic champion Mo Farah, and Somali-Canadian model Sabrina Dhowre among those in attendance.
The embassy in London is expected to provide consular services to the nearly 500,000-strong Somali diaspora community in the UK, as well as other services such as travel documentation and marriage certificates.
It will also host cultural and educational events.
The reopening of the embassy, according to Ambassador Kheyr, is a positive step toward strengthening UK-Somali relations.
Following the collapse of the central government in 1991, the Somali embassy in London was officially closed. Diplomatic relations, on the other hand, have grown stronger in recent years.
After a 22-year absence, Britain reopened its embassy in Mogadishu in 2013.
Somali Embassy in the UK opening ceremony 🇬🇧 🇸🇴 pic.twitter.com/hCyekj3Aa4
— Prof Abdinasir Ismail “SOLA” PhD (@AbdinasirSola) February 9, 2023