Written by Dharma Maalim
Sunday, February 22, 2026
The Horn of Africa is currently at a critical juncture, moving from a history of division and instability to an era in which deeper regional economic integration is not just an option but a necessity. For Somalia, this imperative is particularly acute, requiring advocacy for a Horn of Africa regional economic zone based on strong connectivity corridors.
Across the continent, regional economic zones have become an important vehicle for fostering growth, resilience and geopolitical influence. Institutions such as the African Union, African Development Bank and World Bank have consistently emphasized the importance of comprehensive connectivity, including physical, institutional and economic, as the basis for regional transformation. This is especially true in the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa is a region that, despite its strategic location, is hampered by inadequate infrastructure, fragmented markets, and underdeveloped corridors. The formation of a cohesive economic bloc is therefore an important step towards unlocking the region’s potential and ensuring sustainable development.
Somalia’s pivotal geography: from potential to economic levers
Somalia occupies a unique geopolitical position along the Indian Ocean-Red Sea-Gulf of Aden corridor through which a significant portion of the world’s maritime trade passes. For decades, this advantage remained largely unrealized due to conflict, institutional weakness, and limited regional integration. However, recent macroeconomic stabilization, debt relief, and governance reforms have created an opportunity to reposition Somalia as a gateway economy for the Horn of Africa.
World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) literature consistently emphasizes the disproportionate benefits that landlocked and fragile states derive from coastal state investments in efficient transport, trade facilitation, and cross-border corridors. This is especially true in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia’s dependence on access to external ports, Kenya’s aspirations for regional trade leadership, and Djibouti’s logistics-centric development model all highlight regional dynamics where Somalia’s infrastructure, including ports, roads, energy networks, and digital infrastructure, can be a catalyst for growth. However, realizing these potentials will depend on establishing a well-coordinated regional framework that integrates Somalia’s infrastructure development with the broader economic objectives of neighboring countries.
Why Brock and why now?
The Horn of Africa presents a compelling case for regional economic integration. The region is characterized by significant interdependence with shared markets facilitating the exchange of goods and services across borders. Moreover, the overlapping infrastructure needs of Member States, particularly in transport and energy, highlight the potential for coordinated development.
The common challenges posed by climate change and security threats further emphasize the need for a unified approach. The main obstacle to realizing the benefits of regional economic areas is the absence of institutionalized economic linkages. Specifically, unlocking the region’s economic potential and promoting sustainable development requires a framework based on enhanced infrastructure connectivity and rational trade facilitation.
Both the AU’s Agenda 2063 and the AfDB’s regional integration strategy emphasize that regional blocs are most effective when built around economic corridors rather than purely political arrangements. Corridors reduce trade costs, formalize informal commerce, expand markets, and focus private investment. They also provide practical entry points for cooperation in fragile and post-conflict situations.
For Somalia, leading this charge offers three strategic advantages.
Somalia’s potential for innovative infrastructure development is inherently linked to regional economic integration. The country’s domestic market alone lacks the absorptive capacity to justify the large investments required for large-scale infrastructure projects. However, regional integration offers a viable path to overcoming this limitation. Consolidation expands the accessible market, making projects more financially viable and more attractive to investors. Furthermore, economies of scale are promoted, particularly in areas such as transport, energy, and information and communication technology (ICT), thereby optimizing resource allocation and maximizing the effectiveness of infrastructure investments. As a result, regional integration has emerged as a key element for Somalia’s ability to realize its sustainable economic development and infrastructure ambitions. Risk sharing and resilience are key elements in navigating an increasingly interconnected and unstable global landscape. Climate change, supply disruptions, and security externalities cross borders and require cooperative strategies to promote stability and minimize the impact of systemic risks. Regional corridors feature harmonized infrastructure standards, redundant supply chains, and coordinated response mechanisms, providing a practical approach to mitigating these challenges. The World Bank’s emphasis on this strategy, particularly in vulnerable settings, highlights its potential to strengthen resilience and promote sustainable development by enabling shared responsibility and collective action in the face of transnational threats. Risk sharing and resilience are key elements in navigating an increasingly interconnected and volatile global landscape. Climate change, supply disruptions, and security externalities cross borders and require cooperative strategies to promote stability and minimize the impact of systemic risks. Regional corridors feature harmonized infrastructure standards, redundant supply chains, and coordinated response mechanisms, providing a practical approach to mitigating these challenges. The World Bank’s emphasis on this strategy, particularly in vulnerable settings, highlights its potential to strengthen resilience and promote sustainable development by enabling shared responsibility and collective action in the face of transnational threats.
Connecting corridors as the backbone of integration
The African Economic Corridor represents a paradigm shift from isolated infrastructure projects to integrated economic systems. Evidence from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank shows that well-sequenced corridor programs produce superior outcomes. These corridors strategically combine roads, ports, border controls, energy transmission, and digital networks to foster economic growth.
In Somalia, readiness for integration depends on leveraging existing economic gravity. Trade flows along routes linking major cities such as Mogadishu, Baidoa and Bosaso with neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya offer the most promising route, even if it is currently unofficial. Formalizing and upgrading these organic channels will secure revenue streams, reduce transaction costs, and strengthen the state’s presence across the region. An important lesson emerges. While national ownership is paramount, effective corridor development requires intense regional coordination to maximize impact and ensure sustainable economic returns.
The legacy of commerce: reconnecting with history
The historical context of the Horn of Africa reveals that contemporary efforts to establish economic corridors are not new inventions, but rather formalizations of existing trade networks. For centuries, Somali ports such as Mogadishu, Zeira, and Berbera served as important hubs on the Indian Ocean and silk trade routes. These ports were intricately connected to the interior through pastoral and merchant networks, facilitating the movement of goods.
Somali society, characterized by nomadic mobility and a willingness to accept commercial risks, was inherently structured to support this trade. The continued dominance of informal cross-border trade by these established networks highlights the enduring legacy of this system. As a result, infrastructure development along these historical routes will help leverage Somalia’s entrepreneurial culture as a natural basis for regional integration and expand existing economic activities. This perspective reframes the narrative surrounding mobility in the region, emphasizing it not simply as a security concern but as a form of “soft infrastructure”, a social predisposition to regional commerce that represents a unique asset for future economic partnerships.
The way forward: Legitimacy, inclusion and leadership
Somalia is at a critical juncture in shaping the future of the Horn of Africa. A successful regional bloc must prioritize respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and constitutional order. Somalia’s approach should be rooted in legitimacy and federal coherence, and ensure the inclusion of all stakeholders in its vision. The country’s recent membership in the East African Community and commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides a valuable basis for progress.
The central question is not whether regional integration will occur, but rather who will guide its development. While inaction risks relegating Somalia to a passive relay role, active, evidence-based leadership could establish the state as a key builder of shared prosperity.
For Somalia, claiming the Horn of Africa economic zone is not a concession but a strategic imperative. This represents a reconnection to its historic role as a commercial center, transforming its geographical location and social assets into a force for peace, stability and growth in the wider region. Somalia’s chance to take the lead is now.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Hiiraan Online.
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Darmar Maalim is the coordinator of the World Bank-supported Regional Integration and Economic Connectivity Research Project.
