MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Djibouti on Saturday where he has been warmly welcomed by his counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh and other Djiboutian government officials.
It came hours after Mohamud returned from a visit to neighboring Kenya where he had held talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta to mend strained diplomatic relations.
On Friday, Kenya and Somalia inked a deal that lifts years-long ban on miraa exports to Mogadishu, in return for Nairobi importing fish from Somalia. The agreement also allows Kenyan national carrier to resume scheduled direct flights to the Somali capital, in a sign of thaw in the ties between the countries. read more
Somali President and Djiboutian leader are set to discuss a number issues of mutual interest, including efforts to strengthen diplomatic relations and cooperation, Mohamud’s office said in a statetemnt.
Relations between Mogadishu and Djibouti have plummeted to their lowest point in decades over the past years since Mogadishu accused Djiboutian authorities of siding with Kenya in a report issued by IGAD-deployed fact-finding mission sent to assess claims by Somali government that KDF was arming its rebels to launch cross-border attacks.
Last year, the government of Somalia’s former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo alleged that Djibouti had arrested Somali National Security Advisor Fahad Yasin. In an interview aired just a few weeks ago, Fahad claimed that the brief detention was part of a conspiracy aimed at disappearing him.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will give a speech at Djibouti’s parliament discussing “situation in our country and circumstances surrounding it, and the importance of the historic ties between the two countries on development and regional stability.”
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