MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheire on Tuesday chaired a meeting to discuss on the country’s plan to print new currencies.
The conference which took place in Mogadishu was attended by representatives international agencies and the 765government officials.
The participants discussed means to accelerate the production of the money and securing fund for the process.
The sides called upon the countries and international financial institutions pledged to support the country get new currencies, to extend their financial support.
Somali government needs $41 million which will go directly toward printing the new money.
Speaking at the meeting, Somali Minister for Finance, Abdirahman Duale Beileh said the government fulfilled conditions allowing Somalia get new currency.
“We need 41 million USD to print new currency. The government cannot afford to pay that amount. Countries and international agencies have (previously) pledged to help us as we have already fulfilled conditions tabled,” he said.
The minister confirmed that the government will organise another conference to iron out challenges facing the process.
Mid this year, the Somali government announced that it will print new currency notes to replace the ones currently in use.
The finance ministry displayed two samples of the new notes including 5,000 and 10,000 shillings denominations.
The new currencies will replace the old ones that were largely out of circulation.
The most readily available of the current notes are of the 1,000 shillings denomination, that have been in use for the past two decades.
Successive Somali governments have tried to introduce new currencies but were always hindered by the debt relief conditions, imposed by the international financial institutions.
The country’s old currency has almost disappeared or is worn out and was replaced by U.S. dollars, or privately printed notes, most of which are worthless fakes.
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