Dr. Ali Mohamed Sheikh
Instructor and Honorary Member
SOBS Liaison Officer to the East African Community – In Service Since 1980
Dr Ali Mohamed Sheikh is a senior Somali standards and quality professional whose career extends from laboratory quality control and pharmaceutical production to public health inspection, port operations, import conformity assessment and regional institutional liaison. His professional record, beginning in 1980, reflects sustained service in technical, advisory and leadership positions concerned with the safety, quality and regulatory control of food, medicines and other imported or manufactured goods.
He combines scientific training with practical regulatory experience, bringing to SICLE a perspective grounded in standards, conformity assessment and public health protection, the point where product quality, trade facilitation and institutional coordination meet.
Leadership and Service at the Somali Bureau of Standards
Dr Sheikh currently serves as Liaison Officer of the Somali Bureau of Standards (SOBS) to the East African Community (EAC), supporting communication and coordination between SOBS and relevant EAC structures on standards, quality infrastructure and regional cooperation. He previously served SOBS as Director of Port Operations, a position linked to inspection, border controls and the quality oversight of goods entering Somalia.
Professional Career
Liaison Officer to the East African Community – Somali Bureau of Standards (Current)
Coordinates SOBS engagement with the EAC and supports institutional communication on standards, quality infrastructure and regional cooperation.
Director, Port Operations – Somali Bureau of Standards (Former)
Provided senior leadership in port-related standards and inspection work, drawing on long experience in product control, certification and import oversight.
Liaison Officer – Bureau Veritas (2009-2010)
Supported the coordination of pre-shipment inspection for imports to Somalia, including quantity and quality checks, customs classification, price verification, import eligibility and reporting.
Head of Quality Control, Coordination and Inspection – Ministry of Health, Somalia (2007-2009)
Led national and international coordination and inspection responsibilities relating to quality control and public health protection.
Technical Director and Senior Technical Adviser – Somali Pharmaceutical Industry (1987-1990)
Served as Technical Director of the Somali Pharmaceutical Industry, Head of the National Higher Commission Board at the Ministry of Health, and technical adviser to the Central Investigation Department. Earlier posts included Head of Inspection for Mogadishu Local Government (1981-1987) and Chief of the Quality Control Laboratory at the ASPIMA Agency / Ministry of Health (1980-1981).
Education and Training
Pharmaceutical Technology
Specialisation, Uppsala, Sweden (1982-1984).
Bachelor’s Degree, Chemical Industry
Faculty of Chemical Industry, Gaheyr University, Mogadishu (1976-1980).
Good Manufacturing Practice & Quality Control
Specialist training at Farmitalia Carlo Erba, Milan and Ancona, Italy (1987-1989).
Core Areas of Expertise
- Standards and quality infrastructure: institutional coordination, quality policy implementation and regulatory oversight.
- Port and border inspection: inspection of imported goods, certification, customs classification and documentary controls.
- Pharmaceutical quality: pharmaceutical technology, GMP, production quality control and laboratory management.
- Food safety and public health: inspection of foodstuffs, medicines, slaughterhouses and other environments affecting public health.
Languages: Somali (native), English, Swahili, Dutch and Italian.