Somalia

Somalia

Somalia / is an Arab country located in the Horn of Africa in eastern Africa and bounded to the northwest by Djibouti, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. And it owns the longest maritime boundaries in the continent of Africa

Somalia was once one of the most important global trade centers among the countries of the ancient world. The Somali sailors and merchants traded incense, frankincense, myrrh and spices, which were considered to be one of the most valuable products in the southern region of Arabia and Socotra for the ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Masons, and Babylonians, with whom all Somali commercial caravans were linked and the Somalis established business relations with them

Somalia is located in the far east of the African continent, which resembles in composition the horn of a rhinoceros and is widespread in the African continent, and therefore it was called the Horn of Africa. Somalia stretches between latitude 10 north and longitude 49 east. The area of ​​Somalia is 637,657 square kilometers, of which 10,320 square kilometers are covered by water bodies, or about 1.6% of the total area of ​​the country. As such, it is somewhat less in area than the state of Texas, USA

Somalia also has a land border with a length of 2,340 km, separating it from Djibouti by a distance of 58 km, Ethiopia with a distance of 1,600 km, and Kenya with a distance of 682 km. Moreover, Somalia has the longest coast on the African continent, with a total length of Somali coasts of 3,025 km; Somali territorial waters extend to 200 nautical miles within the waters of the Indian Ocean

The agricultural sector is the most important economic sector in the country, accounting for 40% of the total national income in Somalia and 65% of the total export earnings; Besides the agricultural products and live and slaughtered meat exported by Somalia, the country also exports fish, coal, bananas, sugar, sorghum and maize, all of which are local products

With regard to animal exports, Somalia exported 3 million livestock from sheep in 1999, which was acquired by the ports of Bossasso and Berbera. 95% of the total number of goats and 52% of the sheep that were exported were exported from East Africa completely. Somaliland annually exports approximately 180 million tons of livestock, in addition to 480 million tons of agricultural products. Moreover, Somalia is the largest and most bitter suppliers in the world

As for the industrial sector, it is still suffering from the civil war and depends mainly on the packaging and processing of agricultural products and making them ready for export, and the industrial sector does not participate with more than 10% of the gross domestic product. Far from relying on agricultural products, after other industrial activities, they began to grow. For example, there are private airlines that are leading a war to reduce prices in order to exclusively operate the largest amount of flights at the expense of other companies

There are also business sectors that have grown depending on the credits of Somali citizens abroad, such as mobile phone companies, private radio stations and Internet cafes. A new canning plant has been opened in Mogadishu, affiliated with Coca-Cola International, which indicates the confidence of global companies in the current investment climate in Somalia

Moreover, money transfer companies are considered one of the most popular business sectors at the present time, as these companies pump approximately $ 2 billion annually inside the country through external transfers from Somali abroad, and the most active companies in this field are the companies that transfer money Through cash transfers, these companies are headed by the "Dahab Shell" company, which is based in Hargeisa, which employs more than 1,000 Somalis and has 40 branches around the world, including branches in Dubai and London

Somalia covers a semi-arid hot climate, where the average annual rainfall ranges between 10 and 20 inches, while the area of ​​arable land does not exceed 2% of the total area of ​​Somalia. The civil war in Somalia has had the worst impact on tropical forests, as many were cut Of trees for charcoal production, which subsequently led to successive droughts

In contrast, the Siad Barre regime had approved a large-scale plan for planting trees at the republic level in order to stop the encroachment of sand dunes and confront the threat of desertification. The first environmental organization was established in Somalia during the Siad Barre government. It was followed by the "Somali Environmental Association", which helped to spread environmental awareness among citizens, and also moved environmental programs in all government sectors as well as between civil society institutions. A "Center for Research, Follow-up and Rescue of Wildlife" was established by the international organization (Akutera) in 1986

This outreach paid off in 1989 when all government parties agreed to the Somali government's signature of the "Ban on Trade in Endangered Species" treaty, which for the first time banned trade in elephant ivory. This was followed by the organization of the environmental activist and winner of the Goldman Prize for Environment Fatima Jibril for national campaigns aiming at environmental awareness launched from her hometown in the city of Boran where she organized community committees to protect the coastal wildlife and wildlife in the virgin lands that humans have not yet reached

It also trained young people to work to spread environmental awareness about the damages caused by overproduction of charcoal; Moreover, Fatima Jibril joined the Boran Institute for Remote Areas, who organized the "Caravan of Beauty" program, where a group of young people walked in the desert for three weeks on the back of camels and guided the residents of those remote areas on the optimal use of non-renewable natural resources, medical services and optimal management of livestock As well as lectures on peace