Somalia celebrates its National Day Wednesday. Located in the Horn of Africa, its neighbors are Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya. The total area of the country is 246,200 square miles and its estimated population is around seven million. Mogadishu is its capital.

In antiquity, Somalia was an important center for commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Its sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh, and spices, items which were considered luxuries by the ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans, and Babylonians with whom the Somali people traded.

Somalia was conquered by the British and the Italians who proceeded to divide it into Northern Somalia or what was known as the British Somaliland, and Central or Southern Somalia, or what was called Italian Somalland.

After World War II, Italy lost all its African colonies. Italian Somaliland became independent while Northern Somaliland gained independence from Britain in June 26, 1960. Northern and Southern Somaliland merged on July 1, 1960, to become the Sonali Republic.

The economy of Somalia is based primarily on livestock raising. Crop farming is of importance in the south. Efforts to diversify and modernize the economy were directed by the government through a series of development plans, extensively assisted by foreign grants and loans.

The chief exports of Somalia are livestock, bananas, hides, and fish. The principal imports are manufacturers, petroleum products, foodstuffs, and construction materials. Somalia’s major trading partners are Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kenya, United Arab Emirates, and Djibouti.

We congratulate the people and government of Somalia led by their Excellencies, President Sharif Ahmed and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, on the occasion of their National Day.