By Horn Africa News
HELSINKI — Finland has suspended its development aid to Somalia, tying future funding to progress on the repatriation of Somali nationals, Finnish Minister for Development Ville Tavio announced.
Tavio said aid will only resume after “concrete progress” is made, including Somalia’s agreement to accept more deportees. The freeze, imposed in November 2024, halted new projects under Finland’s Somalia Country Programme but allowed ongoing initiatives to continue. Humanitarian aid, NGO grants, and private sector support remain unaffected.
The Finnish Foreign Ministry had planned to allocate between €8 million and €9 million annually to Somalia, though no replacement package has been outlined. Tavio hinted that Somalia must accept at least 100 nationals before development assistance is reinstated, but declined to specify exact figures.
The issue is politically sensitive in Somalia, where officials cite security risks and public resistance to receiving citizens with criminal records from abroad.
Repatriations from Finland to Somalia were largely suspended between 2021 and 2023 and resumed late last year. So far in 2025, Finland has returned 11 Somali nationals, three of them voluntarily. Authorities estimate 100 to 200 more remain subject to deportation orders.
Finland’s Interior Minister Mari Rantanen visited Mogadishu in January to advance discussions on repatriation, with cooperation reportedly improving. The Finnish Foreign Ministry is also preparing a short-term project worth several hundred thousand euros to support Somalia’s immigration authority.
The move reflects a broader European trend. Countries including Germany and Sweden have stepped up deportations of Somali nationals convicted of serious crimes, while France and Ireland have tightened border controls to curb irregular migration.
