Somalland: Bihi to embark first foreign trip to Djibouti

[Deeq A.]

HARGEISA— President of Somaliland, Hon. Musa Bihi this week is due to embark first foreign tour after taking office in December, to Djibouti.

According to information close to the presidency confirm that the Head of State has received an official invitation from Djibouti counterpart, His Excellency, Ismail Omar Gueleh. The current foreign affairs minister and the minister for justice are due to travel the president to Djibouti. Djibouti is said to have played a key role in the presidential election campaign held in Somaliland last year where the ruling Kulmiye party presidential candidate, the incumbent president defeated his main rival, the former parliament speaker, Abdirahman Irro by landslide victory. The president’s visit to Djibouti aims at further enhancing bilateral ties between the two countries. The high-profile visit will boost cooperation between the two countries in several sectors including trade, combat terrorism and piracy in the region. Somaliland President, Musa is to hold bilateral discussions with Djibouti counterpart, Ismail Omar to boost the bilateral relations. Djibouti does not recognize Somaliland as an independent state but sticks on its declaration that Somaliland is still part of Somalia. It is not known for how long is the visit going to take as far as President, Musa’s visit to Djibouti is concerned. The Head of State has received Djiboutian representative to Somaliland at the presidency a couple of days ago.