As the country celebrates its 60th year of independence, Somalia’s President Mohamed Farmaajo has reopened the National Theater.
Farmaajo declared Somali National Theater reopened on Friday.
Several top government officials, including Mayor Omar Mohamed Finnish of Mogadshu, who also doubles as the Governor of Benadir, accompanied President Farmaajo.
Farmaajo said, “The reopening of Somali National Theater is proof of our ability to rebuild the country without seeking any external assistance.”
Somali National Theater was first opened in 1967 and has been a crucial cultural landmark in Mogadishu since then.
However, its doors were closed in the 1990s as the Civil War ravaged not only the capital city but also the rest of the country.
In the ensuing years, the government of Somalia has attempted to renovate and reopen it without much success.
The government of Somalia signed an agreement with the Chinese government in 2013.
Through the five-year agreement, China was to rebuild several infrastructural landmarks in the Horn of Africa nation. Somalia National Theater was selected as one of the landmarks.
However, Somalis might have to wait a little longer to use the national theater because of the COVID-19 measures the government has put in place.
