Somalia will begin preparations to boost teaching of the Swahili language in schools and universities, its president said. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made the announcement on Tuesday, October 7, at an East African Community (EAC) summit, saying Swahili would be taught alongside the country’s official languages, Somali and Arabic, as well as English, Al Jazeera reported. ALSO READ: Somalia pays its $7.8m full budget contribution to EAC budget The move reflects Somalia’s deeper integration with the eight-member regional bloc, which uses Swahili as an official language. “Somalia wears many different hats,” Mohamud said at the summit in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. He explained that Somalia adopted Arabic when it joined the Arab League in 1974, teaches languages such as English and would now introduce Swahili after its membership in the East African Community (EAC). ALSO READ: Somalia's parliament approves country's membership in EAC “The country’s universities, especially the Somali National University, should focus more on developing the Swahili language, which is the language of East Africa,” Mohamud said. “Adopting Swahili is important for our integration into the region.” Somalia joined the EAC in early 2024, entering a regional bloc of 300 million people that promotes trade and allows freedom of movement across member states stretching from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Kenya. Swahili is one of Africa’s most widely spoken languages, and it has 200 million speakers globally. Somalia, once a British and Italian colony, retained traces of both languages in the 20th century although Italian later declined as Arabic gained ground through migration to Arab countries and Somalia’s membership in the Arab League. English has long been taught at the higher levels of Somalia’s education system and is widely spoken by Somalis who pursue broader employment opportunities, both within the country and overseas. While many Somalis in Kenya and Tanzania already speak Swahili, its recognition marks the language’s first official adoption within Somalia itself. Daud Aweis, Somalia’s information minister, said in a post on X: “Swahili language & traditions are not new to Somalia; Radio Mogadishu previously featured a Swahili section, & many Somalis speak Swahili fluently.” Somalia’s education minister, Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir, said: “We want to see Swahili become a language of communication, trade and learning – even replacing English during our next conference.”
