The meeting took place as part of preparation for the summit of the heads of the four states, which started on Wednesday.
The minister's talks were focused on the organization of common efforts "in full cooperation with the Somali National Army, the African Union Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and the non-ATMIS forces in Somalia."
The delegations have discussed measures to counter threats to regional security, mainly the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab, in the first meeting of its kind in Somalia since 2007, when the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was launched.
AMISOM was succeeded by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in 2022. It is planned that in 2024, security operations in Somalia will be fully transitioned to the Somali National Armed Forces and the mandate of ATMIS will end.
The heads' of state summit itself is also dedicated to "ways to jointly confront the dangers" of terrorism.
According to the Somali government, the countries' "collaboration is expected to lead to the quick liberation of the country from the Kharijites [renegades] who have been dealt heavy blows on the battlefield in the past few weeks."
Al-Qaeda*-affiliated al-Shabaab has been active is Somalia since the mid-2000s, when it formed in response to Ethiopia's operation in the war-torn country. In the following years, the Islamists seized large territories, including Mogadishu. The capital was recaptured by government and AMISOM forces in 2011, with the militants suffering heavy losses.
After the defeat, al-Shabaab largely embraced terror tactics, committing some of the bloodiest terror attacks in Africa's history.
In response, al-Shabaab organized more terror attacks, including the deadliest one in five years, when at least 121 people were killed and 333 others injured in Mogadishu in October 2022.
*terrorist groups banned in Russia and other countries