Somalia’s political leaders, thinkers, activists have converged in Garowe, the capital of the Puntland region for the annual Forum for Ideas organized by think tank Heritage Institute.
The conference comes at a crucial time when there are divisions over upcoming elections.
Both opposition leaders and senior government officials who were invited are present at the three-day conference that was supposed to kick off on Tuesday but delayed due to the intensity of the participants.
Former heads of state Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, and Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohamed Gulaid are among the officials present.
Various leaders held sideline meeting a day before the crucial forum.
Their discussions focused on key issues including security where the leaders of host state Saed Abdullahi Deni and his Galmudug counterpart Ahmed Abdi Kariye discussed ways to cooperate on averting cross-border attacks.
On the other hand, Former President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed met Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohamed Gulaid which discussed ways to iron out concerns on elections by the opposition coalition.





