The President of Puntland Government of Somalia, H.E. Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud (Farole), has met privately in Djibouti City with the newly-appointed Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia, H.E. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo).

President Farole of Puntland and his delegation in Djibouti, which includes Puntland’s Interior Minister Hon. Abdullahi Ahmed Jama (Ilkajir), were en route to returning home to Puntland after a successful trip to Kenya, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

On Monday, the two leaders met for the first time face-to-face in Djibouti City. Prime Minister Farmajo and his delegation, which includes the TFG Foreign Minister and Finance Minister, Hon. Mohamed Abdullahi Oomar and Hon. Hussein Abdi Halane, respectively, were travelling to attend the 5th International Conference on Federalism, being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Puntland’s State Minister for Democratization Process and Federal Affairs, Hon. Abdi Hassan Jimale, is also attending that same conference in Addis Ababa along with a Federalism Expert from Puntland.

The two leaders were initially joined in an informal meeting by the delegation members for introductions, but they subsequently held a closed-door meeting which lasted for one hour. Discussions included how to cooperate on key issues, namely security, decentralization, and completion of the transitional tasks.

It was the first time Puntland President Farole met with the new TFG Prime Minister Farmajo since the latter’s appointment in October.