On Sunday, President Ahmed Islam Madobe of the semiautonomous region of Jubbaland addressed Somalia’s Upper House on the ongoing election talks in Mogadishu.
Madobe and President Said Abdullahi Deni of Puntland traveled to Mogadishu last week to kick off a series of talks on the country’s upcoming elections.
Initially, the two leaders were to meet with President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo only.
However, they urged Farmaajo to include the other three leaders of the Federal Member States (FMS) to make the talks more inclusive.
Late last week, Farmaajo agreed to their requests.
Now, the leaders of HirShabelle, Southwest, and Galmudug states are expected to travel to Mogadishu for the talks.
Madobe addressed the Senate for 30 minutes. He briefed them on the progress of the talks. Further, he discussed the relationship between Jubbaland and the Federal Government of Somalia too.
The ongoing war against Al-Shabaab and other extremist groups in Jubbaland also received a mention in his address.
Madobe told the Senate that “genuine dialogue and compromise” are critical to creating the right environment to defeat the “tit-for-tat” culture that has dominated politics in Somalia.