Somalia to host IGAD heads of state meeting this month

Somalia will host IGAD heads of state Summit in Mogadishu on 10th of September, for the first time following decades of civil war and instability in the horn of Africa nation.

This will the second high international level meeting Somalia is hosting since 1985.

Addressing the press in the Kenya capital Nairobi,  Somali foreign Minister  Abdisalam Omer Hadliye said the presidents of Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti, South Sudan, and Ethiopian Prime Minister will be among the leaders attending the summit.

The leaders are expected focus on the support of the peace and development in Somalia.

Minister Hadliye noted that the conference will encourage international delegates to arrive Somalia.

Last year, Foreign Ministers from seven countries in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD, met in the Somali capital for the first time in nearly 25 years.

The group’s talks focused on political and security progress made in Somalia, as well as the anticipated 2016 elections.

The 22,000 strong AU force is mandated with assisting the federal government in its war against the terror group Al-Shabaab.