Sunday October 23, 2022
Garowe (HOL) - Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, together with the President of the Puntland State Said Abdullahi Deni, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Gara'ad Port in Puntland’s Mudug region on Saturday.
The multi-million-dollar, community and privately-funded Gara'ad port project started in 2020. The new deep-water container terminal on the Indian Ocean can dock 40,000-ton container ships.
President Mohamud congratulated the Puntland community on the completion of the port, describing it as a reflection of Somali resilience for development and cooperation.
"Today is a joyful day to express gratitude to one another and Allah. Peace and unity are the foundations of all progress. In general, the people of this region and Puntland have demonstrated courage and hard work, demonstrating how we can achieve great things when we work together. The success of this project belongs to Somalia as a whole," President Mohamud said.
The Gara'ad port becomes the Horn of Africa nation's fifth deep-water facility providing access to the Indian Ocean,
United States embassy in Mogadishu congratulated the people of Puntland and all who contributed o the opening of the Gara'ad port."With unity and cooperation, Somalia demonstrated its commitment to economic development," the embassy tweeted.
Kenyan Defence Minister- Designate Aden Barre Duale, the President of the Somali region of Ethiopia l, Mustafe Omer, and the President of South West State, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, attended the inauguration ceremony.