The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, highlighted the need for the government to have a complete constitution on Saturday, reiterating his commitment to working towards its completion.

In his speech during the opening of the 4th Session of the two Houses of the Federal Parliament, the President addressed the achievements and progress of the country over the past 18 months, covering a wide range of issues, including the constitution and the total war against terrorism.

President Hassan stated that Somalia was expected to bear fruit by the end of this year on five issues, two of which had to be decided by Somalia while the other three were awaited for their decision by organizations and the international community.

He mentioned the need to establish a stable government through liberating the country and completing the constitution.

“To stand as stable, we have two key things to do to attract global actions. First, we need to liberate our country from the terrorists group and maintain peace. And secondly, we have to have a complete constitution that guides the functions of our country,” the president said.

He added, “the draft constitution is an obstacle to our unity because the majority of the disputes between ourselves were contributed by the lack of a constitution.”

“It is also an obstacle to our stability as a government. For us to have any relations with another government, we should have a complete constitution. This will result in Somalia being seen as a country that has cut itself off from the cycle of vulnerability that was creating a lot of doubt.”

The president called on the House of Parliament to implement the political agreement reached by the National Consultative Assembly to rid the country of the confusion that has been lingering for the past few years.

The president underlined three key things that are expected from Somalia’s international partners: admitting Somalia to regional blocs like EAC, debt relief, and the lifting of the arms embargo.

He revealed that Somalia’s debt relief progress and arms embargo would be completed in December this year.

“Once we establish a stable government, three things are expected of the international partners: our admissions to regional and international markets, just like how we joined the East African Community yesterday, which the decision was made by 7 other presidents,” he said.

He added, “The other things are about debt relief and lifting of arms embargo which both will be completed within December. Within the first week of the month, the arms embargo will be lifted, and on 13th November the debts will be cleared.”

The President also stressed the government’s plan to recruit 3,000 more teachers to expand and improve the country’s education system.

He also addressed the important achievements made by the government in the fields of health, justice, and other basic services for human life, according to President Hassan.

The federal government, led by President Hassan Sheikh, is actively advocating for the implementation of the NCC agreement, which replace the Prime Minister’s office with a Deputy President.

However, the agreement faces strong opposition from Puntland State’s leaders who refused to participate in several meetings between the federal government and its member states aimed at promoting peace and stability in the country.

Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni stated that the National Consultative Council is not a constitutionally established body mandated to make decisions on emerging issues within the country.

Last week, Deni announced that he is ready to meet President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to discuss and resolve the disputed issues between the federal government and the state government.