Press Release:  A Delegation from the Somaliland National Assembly Departs for a Study Tour to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

 A large delegation from the Secretariat of the Somaliland National Assembly, headed by House of Representatives deputy Secretary-General, departed today for a 7-day working visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  The study tour is being organized by the Institute for Practical Research and Training (IPRT) in Hargeisa under a program funded by the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

IPRT Director, Dr. Ahmed Hussein Esa, said “the study tour is designed to help our National Assembly staff familiarize themselves with how more established institutions work”.  The eight members selected for this tour work in the archives and research sections of the Somaliland parliament.  Eight more members are expected to embark on another study tour soon.  In addition to the National Assembly of Ethiopia, the delegation will visit the headquarters of the African Union, which is also based in Addis Ababa.

Abdirazak Said Ayanle, Deputy Secretary-General told reporters at the airport that these regional study tours are very important “these tours promote healthy relationships among people, it is very important for us, since we are the youngest assembly in the region, to learn from our bigger brothers”.  Abdirazak explained that while they are in Addis Ababa, the delegation will talk to their counterparts, study the equipment they use in the recordings of proceedings and how they may be appropriate for their own work, and in general learn from their experience.  He added “Somaliland is in the process of re-building and we need to look into regional institutions for lessons learned, what to keep and what mistakes to avoid”

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi, the Deputy-Speaker of the Guurti, Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Nuh, and the head of IPRT, Dr. Ahmed Hussein Esa, thanked the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Head of the Ethiopian Commercial Office in Somaliland and the Somaliland Representative in Addis Ababa for their role in facilitating this tour.

For more information, please contact:  Mohamoud Osman of IPRT at 528-629.