Somaliland is seeking to work closely with its East African neighbour Kenya to improve its capacity in education.
Somaliland education minister Ahmed Mohamed Derie was in Nairobi where he met his Kenyan counterpart Professor George Magoha where they agreed to further develop cooperation on several educational sectors.
Kenya is key to Somaliland’s development in education given over 3000 Kenyan teachers are working in several institutions in Somaliland.
Somaliland is also seeking more opportunities for its students to join higher learning institutions in Kenya.
“Our visit aimed to explore further avenues of cooperation with international partners stationed here and see how we can improve our relationship with Kenya on matters education,” Minister Derie said.
Somaliland deputy representatives in Kenya Sharmarke gelleh, Director of Somaliland ministry of education Ahmed Abokor and other education ministries attended the meeting.
It is the first high-level meeting between education ministers of Somaliland and Kenya.
Somaliland presently hosts what is said to be the largest number of Kenyan teachers in the region. Other professional Kenyan nationals are placed at various government and private institutions in various capacities.
Besides, there is a sizeable Kenyan expatriate community permanently living in Somaliland.
The relationship between Kenya and Somaliland went a step higher in December when President Uhuru Kenyatta hosted his Somaliland counterpart Musa Bihi Abdi in Nairobi.
In the MOU signed between the two heads of state, education was one of the main areas of cooperation. Other areas included travel, diplomacy, agriculture and infrastructure.
