Photo/Somali Times
The outgoing president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo tonight received at the presidential palace members of the Somali cabinet and the manager of the company that exported fish to Ethiopia today, after an agreement was reached between the governments of Somalia and Ethiopia to exchange fish and a drug Somalis use called Khat.
President Mohamed Farmajo welcomed the agreement, praising the government for what he called, ”Empowering Somali businesses and securing regional markets for our country’s products will boost the country’s economy, employment opportunities for youth and the living standards of our people. said Farmajo.”
The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, stressed that empowering Somali businesses and securing regional markets for our country’s products will boost the country’s economy, youth employment opportunities and the living standards of our people.
Farmajo praises the drug Khat, which affected some Somali families. The President, after hearing a briefing from the Ministers of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Abdullahi Bidhan Warsame, and the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Durran Ahmed Farah, highlighted the importance of trade with our neighboring countries based on balance and cooperation. Somalis are receiving the same economic benefits as their imported counterparts.
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Abdullahi Bidhan Warsame and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Durran Ahmed Farah said opportunities for trade co-operation with neighboring countries go hand in hand with rebuilding infrastructure, balancing trade with neighboring countries and strengthening production, which makes it possible for the country’s crops and produce to be visible in the markets of the countries of the Region.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo praised drug which effected Somalis families the growing commercial market for Somali fishermen and reaffirmed that it is time for us to compete with regional countries for domestic production in our country. said Farmajo.
According to University of Birmingham, Khat, or cott, is the name given to the leaves of an evergreen shrub, (Catha edulis) that grows in East Africa: some call it ”the flower of paradise.” The leaves are chewed by many people in countries like Yemen, Somalia and Ethiopia, in much the same way that coca leaves are chewed in South America. Cathinone is the molecule that is the main active ingredient, along with a similar molecule called cathine (not to be confused with caffeine).
Khat is already banned in Europe, UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Asia and part of Africa.
There has been concern about the effect of Khat on some of its regular users in the Somali community. While Khat may be causing some problems for refugees of war in Somalia its use needs to be viewed alongside the poverty and stigma that may be experienced by many of these people.
Regular Khat use may lead to insomnia, anorexia and anxiety. In some cases it may make people feel more irritable and angry and possibly violent.
Psychological dependence can result from regular use so that users feel depressed and low unless they keep taking it.