Hargeisa, Somaliland: Abdul Rafay Afzal held a formal meeting today with Mr. Abdikadir Kamil Ibrahim, Deputy Executive Director for Research & Academics at the Civil Service Institute (CSI) Somaliland, at the Institute’s headquarters in Hargeisa. The meeting focused on exploring avenues for strategic cooperation aimed at strengthening public-sector governance, research, and institutional capacity in Somaliland.

The Civil Service Institute of Somaliland (CSI) is the country’s premier government training and research institution, mandated to build the capacity of civil servants, enhance governance frameworks, and promote evidence-based policymaking across ministries and state institutions. CSI plays a central role in professionalizing Somaliland’s civil service through advanced research, specialized training programs, institutional reform initiatives, and international cooperation.

During the meeting, both sides discussed potential collaboration in key areas, including joint research partnerships, academic and policy exchange, public policy development, and institutional capacity-building initiatives. Mr. Abdikadir Kamil Ibrahim reaffirmed CSI’s openness to collaboration with counterpart institutions and experts from around the world, underscoring Somaliland’s commitment to modern governance, global best practices, and innovation within the public sector.

The discussion also covered CSI’s ongoing and expanding work, particularly its growing research agenda, structured training programs for civil servants, and efforts to align Somaliland’s public administration with internationally recognized standards of efficiency, transparency, and professionalism.

The meeting concluded with a shared understanding of the importance of strong institutions in state-building and governance reform. As emphasized during the engagement, strong institutions create strong states, and the Civil Service Institute remains at the heart of Somaliland’s ongoing governance transformation.

Both parties expressed optimism about future engagement and cooperation that would contribute to sustainable institutional development and improved public service delivery in Somaliland.