Article courtesy La Nation, Djiboutian Newspaper, translated by the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti
Original Article: http://www.lanationdj.com/president-mohamed-ali-houmed-rencontre-delegation-de-garde-nationale-de-kentucky/
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Djiboutian President Mohamed Ali Houmed met with the Kentucky delegation as part of the National Guard's state partnership program. Brig. Gen. Ben Adams, Chief of the Joint Staff and State Command Sgt Maj. David Munden made a formal visit to the country to meet with senior leaders Nov. 13-17, 2017 (photo courtesy La Nation newspaper)
DJIBOUTI -- The President of the National Assembly, Mohamed Ali Houmed, had an audience yesterday with an important delegation from the National Guard of the State of Kentucky.
A Win-Win Partnership:
Led by Brigadier General Benjamin Adams, Chief of Staff of the Kentucky National Guard, the American delegation was composed of Command Sergeant Major David Munden, High Commander of the same Guard Major Laurence Carta, Director of Relations with States, Major Chris Hettinger, in charge of bilateral relations, and the Defense Attaché of the American Embassy in the Republic of Djibouti.
The discussions covered the excellent relationships between our two countries. The ways and means, as well, that they can be reinforced both militarily and civilly. The President
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Brig. Gen. Ben Adams, Chief of the Joint Staff for the Kentucky Guard, presents a Louisville Slugger bat to Djiboutian President Mohamed Ali Houmed from the National Guard Association of the United States Conference that took place in Louisville in Sept. (photo courtesy La Nation)
Mohamed Ali Houmed shared the wish to see this partnership become win-win. It is time, he said, to take additional steps in the framework of this partnership, which must be perpetuated on a solid foundation. He also suggested wide media coverage of U.S. contributions to the development of the country in different sectors, such as health and the training of Djiboutian officers. The President of the National Assembly took the opportunity to make a request for technical and professional trainings for young Djiboutians, in order for them to become more employable.
The Americans apologized for the last-minute cancellation of the mission to Kentucky in August 2017, after the terrible Hurricane Irma which ravaged the South-East of the United States and notably Florida. Afterwards, the American hosts proposed to the President of the Djiboutian Parliament that he return a second time to Kentucky. They requested to have multiple future meetings, so that this nascent cooperation will be fruitful. The American delegation also made known
their intention to include a Djiboutian party in the next conference on crisis management, planned for June 2019, and their wish to share their work countering HIV/AIDS with the Djiboutian military and the rest of the population.
Note that the Kentucky National guard was the first American military contingent to have landed in our country.