SLAMABAD, 16 September 2026 — The Somalia–Pakistan Peer Learning Programme on Foundational ID and Digital Public Infrastructure, co-designed by UNDP Somalia, UNDP Pakistan, Somalia’s National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), and Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), brought a 15-member Somali delegation to Islamabad and Lahore for ten days of institutional visits and technical exchanges. The delegation engaged with NADRA, the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, the Federal Board of Revenue, the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), the State Bank of Pakistan, and other counterparts across identity, interoperability, social protection, taxation and financial inclusion.

The mission coincided with a milestone: Somalia’s national ID system turned three. The anniversary cake was cut in Islamabad by Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, UNDP Pakistan Resident Representative Dr Samuel Rizk, NIRA Director General Abdiwali Ali Abdulle, and senior NADRA officials — but the occasion became a broader reflection on identity as the foundation of a wider digital ecosystem.

Foundational identity and the modern state

Speaking at the closing Roundtable, Gilani said: “I believe that the foundational identity system is much more than a database or a registration document. It is an essential building block of a modern state, facilitating access to public and private services.”

He pointed to Pakistan’s own digital transformation — including a paperless e-Parliament — and stressed transformation must be “inclusive, secure, accountable, and rights-based.” He also flagged potential to extend the partnership through the OIC and the Islamic Development Bank. His closing message was one of confidence in solutions from the Global South:

“Across the global South, our nations are creating homegrown solutions in digital identity, public infrastructure, e-government, financial inclusion, AI, and citizen-centred public services. We no longer need to look exclusively to the North for answers. The most relevant, innovative, and impactful solutions are already being built right here within the global South.”

From establishing identity to building an ecosystem

NIRA Director General Abdulle, who led the delegation, said Somalia’s question has shifted: “The central question is no longer simply how to establish identity. We have one. It is how foundational identity can become a building block of Somalia’s digital public infrastructure.” He cautioned that “digital transformation is not primarily a technology project. It is institutional transformation,” and that Pakistan’s model cannot simply be copied: “Our objective, therefore, is not replication, but adaptation, co-creation and learning from experience.” He also noted the relationship’s roots go back to 1962, and that cooperation must run both ways:

“This should not be a relationship of knowledge provider and knowledge recipient. It should be a partnership of equals.”

Turning a learning mission into a partnership

UNDP Pakistan’s Dr Samuel Rizk said the mission moved “into something much more concrete, identifying practical areas where Somalia and Pakistan can keep working together.” The Roundtable produced an action matrix that “names priority areas, focal points, and an action plan for 30, 60, and 90 days.” For UNDP, he said, South-South cooperation means “adapting lessons to national context and identifying solutions that can be locally owned.”

Somalia’s Embassy Counsellor Jama Hasan called the mission broader than a study visit, noting functional identity “is not simply about databases or numbers, but about enabling access to financial services, social protection, healthcare, education and public administration.” He hoped it would mark “the beginning of a deeper Somalia–Pakistan partnership.”

Amjad Bhatti, UNDP Somalia’s Chief Technical Specialist, described a reciprocal exchange — Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue and State Bank also drew lessons from Somalia’s cashless economy: “This has truly been a two-sided and reciprocal learning process.” The task now, he said, is narrowing ideas into three areas: ID and DPI; digital governance; and financial inclusion.

UNDP Somalia’s Rahmo Hassan said the Roundtable aimed “to move from the South-South learning programme into concrete areas of collaboration,” warning against “creating a broad wish list” in favor of “a limited number of high-impact, actionable areas.” Three working groups were formed around foundational ID; governance and interoperability; and financial inclusion, each tasked with mapping lessons against Somali priorities and setting 30/60/90-day next steps.

Three years on: what comes next?

16 September is also International ID Day. NADRA’s Rehan Qamar recalled: “Three years back we stood together for something to start with, and today we are sitting together to discuss what comes next.” His key message:

“Do not only build the ID system, actually build the DPI,” since “the ID card in a drawer cannot help a citizen unless… it is utilised to unlock potential.”

He noted Pakistan’s own CNIC uptake only rose once registration became obligatory.

The gap between capacity and use

NIRA Operations Director Muhammed Abdullahi Ahmad laid out the scale: 1.5 million IDs issued, 57 registration centers, 18 mobile teams, and 35 diaspora centers—yet daily registration (2,000) falls far short of capacity (200,000). “We are missing 18,000 every day,” he said, blaming lack of demand: “Without the use case, that is meaningless.” He noted Somalia has no national data exchange layer and that “without the commitment of the leadership, the institutions cannot integrate.”

Building the foundations for DPI

NIRA’s Abdullatif Ali Tahlil said scaling the national ID remains the starting point, alongside infrastructure like a Tier-3 data centre: “Almost all government services will be able to interact through it.” Rather than resolving every institutional question upfront, the group proposed proof-of-concept work on e-KYC and single sign-on — but “before we do any of that, we need to scale up the national ID.”

Identity as a gateway to inclusion

BISP’s Muhammad Idrees Mian showed how Pakistan links verified ID to digital payments: “We have unique IDs available with us, and to these unique IDs we transfer money through this digital wallet… and they get their money.” For Somalia, this opens possibilities for linking ID to IDP registries, social protection and humanitarian assistance.

Looking ahead

The Roundtable moved discussion from what Somalia could learn from Pakistan to what the two could build together — narrowing broad ambitions into three working areas with clear 30/60/90-day actions. As a NADRA representative put it: “South-South cooperation is spoken about often but delivered rarely. You have given this partnership structure and continuity… our commitment to you is not a project with an end date. We are always available.”

Read more about UNDP’s work in Somalia: www.undp.org/somalia