Saturday July 11, 2020
Dhusamareb (HOL) - The Presidents of Somalia's Federal Member States (FMS) will begin their consultative meeting in Dhusamareb on Saturday to discuss cooperation between the regions and the looming elections.
The leaders of Galmudug, Puntland, Hirshabelle, South West State and Jubaland are each expected to address the conference individually before diving into the conference schedule that includes constitutional review issues and recent legislative measures adopted by Somalia's Parliament.
The FMS leaders will be meeting without a representative from the Federal Government.
Security has been beefed up in and around the town.
The FMS Presidents opted to attend this consultative meeting in place of a National Security Council (NSC) meeting in Mogadishu that was called by President Farmaajo in late June. Farmaajo hoped that he could convene the NSC for the first time in two years, but those plans quickly evaporated after Puntland and Jubaland both announced they would not attend.
Somalia's former President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud released a video message on Friday warning the Federal Government to realize it's errors in the past and not interfere with the FMS meeting in Dhusamareb.
The meeting is expected to end tomorrow evening.