Speaker Abdoulkadir Mohamed Nour of Somalia's House of the People and Dileita Mohamed Dileita, President of Djibouti's National Assembly, signed an agreement covering training, legal research, committee coordination and joint positions at international forums.
Djibouti's National Assembly and Somalia's House of the People signed a memorandum of understanding on parliamentary cooperation in Djibouti City on 2 November, Dawan Africa reported. It was signed by the Speaker of the House of the People, Abdoulkadir Mohamed Nour, and the President of the National Assembly, Dileita Mohamed Dileita, a former prime minister of Djibouti.
What the agreement covers
According to Dawan Africa, the memorandum sets out a framework for exchanging expertise and institutional experience. The two chambers intend to cooperate on improving legislative processes, training parliamentary staff, legal research and modernising working procedures. The agreement also provides for closer coordination between standing committees, use of modern technology and better data security, the creation of parliamentary friendship groups, and coordinated positions at regional and international parliamentary forums. No budget or timetable was published.
Dileita said the talks with the Somali delegation had produced positive results for both countries, and Nour said Mogadishu was committed to strengthening parliamentary ties through greater exchanges of expertise.
Address to Djibouti's deputies
Earlier on Monday, Nour addressed Djibouti's National Assembly, the state news agency ADI reported. He spoke of shared history, language and culture and of what he called "centuries-old" ties of blood between the two peoples. "The Somali people will never forget the unwavering support of their Djiboutian brothers," he said, according to ADI (CERHA translation from French).
He praised President Ismail Omar Guelleh's role in Somali national reconciliation, notably through the 2000 Arta peace conference that created Somalia's Transitional National Government, and in rebuilding the Somali state. He also paid tribute to the "courage" and "sacrifice" of Djiboutian soldiers serving with the African Union mission in Somalia, whose contribution to stabilising the country and fighting terrorism he described as "decisive".
Context
Djibouti, which shares a border with Somaliland, is one of the troop-contributing countries to the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). The visit comes at a difficult moment for Mogadishu. Uganda has begun withdrawing troops from Somalia, the UN political mission UNTMIS closed at the end of October, and disputes over Somalia's electoral model and the 2027 elections remain unresolved, Garowe Online reported. Djibouti has positioned itself as a mediator in Somali politics since hosting the Arta conference.
Image: Dileita Mohamed Dileita, then prime minister of Djibouti, in Obock, January 2008. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt Joseph L. Swafford Jr., public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.