Cabanglasan, Bukidnon is now a “sister local government unit” of Bal’ad, Somalia. This makes Cabanglasan, a 3rd class municipality in the second district of Bukidnon, the first ever Asian “sister LGU” of Somalia.

The historic LGU sisterhood agreement was signed last July 27, 2015 at the Cabanglasan Municipal Hall between Cabanglasan Mayor Renante Inocando and Bal’ad Mayor Mohamed Mohamud Mohamed. Bal’ad is located in the Shabelle region of Somalia.

The Municipal Council of Cabanglasan, in a unanimous decision, authorized Mayor Inocando to enter into the agreement with Bal’ad, with the objective of “developing close relations with other LGUs for the promotion and social and economic development of both towns.”

“This is a great honor for Cabanglasan. We are the first municipality in the province of Bukidnon to enter into a sisterhood agreement with a counterpart in another country. This is even more significant as it is Somalia’s first relationship with the Philippines and Asia. We are looking forward to working with our brothers and sisters in Bal’ad,” said Mayor Inocando.

Mayor Mohamud, on the other hand, has been quoted as saying:

“The people of Bal’ad greatly appreciate the hand of friendship extended to us by Filipinos. It is hope that springs from the purity of hearts of a kind and generous people.”

Cabanglasan is the third foreign local government unit to partner with Somalia since 1991, the year the civil war started. Recently, the country formalized sister-city agreements with Istanbul, Turkey and Minneapolis, United States of America.

The sisterhood agreement contains a declaration of common shared values and a commitment to cooperate and share best practices in the fields of agriculture and trade, environment protection, tourism, technology, and community development.

* Thank you to our friend Mark Francisco for the materials used in this post.

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