Djibouti national assembly speaker arrives in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Speaker of the National Assembly of Djibouti, Mohamed Ali Houmed arrived in Mogadishu, the Somali capital on Monday, his 2nd visit to the Horn of Africa nation since 2017, Garowe Online reports.

Lower House Speaker Mohamed Mursal accompanied by members of the two Houses and other government officials received Houmed at Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport as heavy rainfall hammering the seaside city.

After the welcome, the Djiboutian speaker along his Somali counterpart flew to Baidoa city, the capital of Southwest State to take part in the opening ceremony of the regional assembly session.

Sources confirmed to Garowe Online that the visiting speaker will be a chief guest at the sixth session of the Somali Lower House of parliament which is slated on Wednesday 9th October.

During his stay, Houmed will meet with top government officials including President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed "Farmajo" and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire about the strengthening of relations between the two countries.

For many years, Djibouti's House of Representatives has been working closely with the brotherly Somali Parliament to help it improve its legislative, representative and oversight functions.

In December 2011, Djibouti became the third country to contribute to AMISOM - African Union Mission in Somalia and deployed a contingent of 960 troops into Somalia to help the country defeat the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab group.

GAROWE ONLINE