The Director of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), Abdullahi Sanbaloolshe has been hailed for playing a crucial role in strengthening the country’s security.
Stakeholders across sectors said that since he assumed the role, Somalia’s security landscape has improved, fostering a climate more conducive to investment and development.
Business leaders, academics, and security analysts credit his leadership with bringing tangible progress and renewed public confidence.
This comes just a year after his appointment to the role.
According to Abdi Abdullahi, chairperson of the Mogadishu business community, NISA’s improved security operations have helped create a more favorable environment for trade.
“The environment has improved significantly,” Abdullahi told journalists in Mogadishu.
“We are now seeing investors from as far as Kenya and Turkey entering the market, setting up businesses, and creating job opportunities.”
He added that as Somalia continues to stabilise, its integration into the East African Community (EAC) could accelerate regional trade and economic growth.
“With this level of security and trust, Somalis will be able to do business across the EAC. Our economy will grow with these assurances.”
Shukre Iman, a scholar at the University of Mogadishu, echoed those sentiments, stressing the importance of security in Somalia’s development.
He also pointed to data suggesting a notable decline in terrorist incidents over the past year.
“Political and security stability are critical to Somalia’s future. What the security agencies have done under Sanbaloolshe’s leadership is to instil a level of confidence among both citizens and potential investors that Somalia is once again open for business,” Iman said.
“Attacks have reduced by nearly half, which is a major milestone for a country that has endured decades of violence,” he added.
Sanbaloolshe took charge of NISA at a time when Somalia was grappling with persistent threats from extremist groups and decades of insecurity.
He is credited with leading the intelligence service into a more versatile institution, actively engaged in counter-terrorism operations, cross-border cooperation, and community outreach.
Security analysts note that under his leadership, NISA has adopted a more proactive approach, combining intelligence-led operations with reforms aimed at rebuilding public trust.
Central to this shift has been a renewed offensive against the Al-Shabaab militant group, which has long posed a threat to national and regional stability.
Sanbaloolshe has also made efforts to strengthen intelligence-sharing with neighboring countries—particularly those within the Horn of Africa and the East African Community—that have historically been affected by Somalia’s security issues.
