Somaliland President delivers state of the Nation address

Somaliland President Muse Bihi has delivered his final state of the nation address in his ending term of office. This is also the first time the new house of representatives where the opposition parties have the majority seats listened to his state of the nation address since they were elected in May last year.

Bihi’s address covered a wide range of issues concerning the current situation in the country that included the economy, security, upcoming elections, droughts, Waaheen Market and the foreign policy.

Addressing the election issues, he noted the licenses of the current political parties will expire in December while the Presidential election will take place in November and the election of the new political associations is controversially expected this year.

The President said the country is facing a new challenge of holding the two elections within a short time. He advised stakeholders to engage in national consultation on this matter to find solutions as the two elections are mandatory.

Meanwhile, Bihi said that his administration has increased the budget and the salary of the national forces to strengthen the nation’s security. He noted Somaliland is a key state for the region’s peace and stability.

Peesident Bihi also noted that his administration created more than 7,000 new jobs in the last year one year and this could be a significance to the efforts to lower the level of unemployment in the country.