Tuesday September 28, 2021
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somalia Ambassador to Canada, Hassan Dahir Dhimbil, hosted a meet-and-greet for the Somali community in Ottawa.
Community and business leaders gathered at the Mariott Hotel in Ottawa's east-end to hear some of the ambassador's plans for his tenure.
The Somali community pledged to work with the new ambassador to help establish the Somali Embassy in Ottawa.
Among those who attended the event was Abdinur Yusuf, Somalia's first ambassador to Canada who launched the embassy in 1979 and former Sudanese ambassador Mukhtar Ibrahim Fiqi.
Hassan Dahir Dhimbil was appointed by President Farmajo as Somalia's ambassador to Canada in October 2020.
Ambassador Dhimbil was in Toronto last month for a similar event.
Canada first established diplomatic relations with Somalia in 1968, but it was suspended following the collapse of the central government in 1991. Diplomatic ties were restored once in 2013 when the Federal Government of Somalia was re-established.
Although Canada and Somalia do not have strong trade relations, Canad hosts one of the largest Somalia diaspora communities globally. Somali-Canadians have retained strong links to their motherland, often returning home to hold senior positions in Somalia's federal and regional governments.