Hiiraan Online

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is due to meet with the Socialist President Hollande today afternoon at the Elysee Palace and this would be the first time a Somali head of State has officially been welcomed to Paris since the start of the civil war in 1991.  President Hassan Sheikh is accompanied on this historical official visit by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Investment Promotion, Abdirahman Beileh, the Minister for Defence Mohamed Sheikh Hassan, the National Security Adviser Abdirahman Sheikh Isse and other senior advisers and civil servants. The delegation was welcomed to Paris by Ali Said Faqi, Somalia’s ambassador to France and head of Mission to the European Union.

“I am honoured to be welcoming the President and his delegation to Paris and I sincerely feel that this is an important milestone for our country’s bilateral relations with France,” said ambassador Ali Faqi. “There are many areas of present and future cooperation between France and Somalia and these will be discussed further in the upcoming meetings.”

On the first day of the visit, the Somali President and his delegation visited the Somali embassy building and ambassador’s residence in central Paris. They were shown around by the ambassador Faqi and his embassy team in France who stated that they were honoured to be involved in the strengthening of bilateral ties between the two nations and people.  The Somali presidential delegation was also given a special tour of the world famous Louvre Museum by the chief of Public Relations, Sabine de la Rochefoucauld. After this, they were given a further private tour of the iconic Eiffel Tower by its most senior managers.

The Somali President and his delegation are due to remain in Paris for two more days in which time they will conduct meetings with businesses and investors, UNESCO as well as French Minister’s and senior civil servants.

HOL English News Desk.