Said Abdullahi Deni

Said Abdullahi Deni
President of Puntland
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 January 2019
Vice President	Ahmed Elmi Osman
Preceded by	Abdiweli Gaas
Minister of Planning
In office 17 January 2014 – 2018
President	Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
Preceded by	Mohamud Hassan Suleiman
Personal details
Born	(1957-07-02) 2 July 1957 Mogadishu, Somalia
Political party	Horseed

Said Abdullahi Dani (Template:Lang-so, Template:Lang-ar; born 2 July 1967), also known as Said Deni or Said Dani, is the current president of Puntland.

Previously, he served as the Minister of Planning of Somalia, having been appointed to the position on 17 January 2014 by Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed. He also ran in the 2017 race for Somali presidency .

Minister of Planning

Appointment

On 17 January 2014, Mohamed was named Somalia's new Minister of Planning by Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed. He succeeded Mohamud Hassan Suleiman at the position.

Somalia-Japan bilateral cooperation

In March 2014, Mohamed and a Somali government delegation including President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdirahman Duale Beyle and Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction Nadifo Mohamed Osman made a four-day visit to Tokyo, where they met with Ambassador Tatsushi Terada and other senior Japanese government officials. President Mohamud and his delegation also conferred with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss strengthening bilateral relations, as well as capacity training for Somali livestock and agricultural development professionals. The visit concluded with an announcement by Japanese Prime Minister Abe that his administration would put forth a $40 million funding package for the rehabilitation of Somalia's police forces, relief services, and job creation opportunities. Mohamud commended the Japanese government for intensifying its bilateral support, and suggested that the development initiatives would be centered on vocational training for youth and women, maritime and fisheries training, fisheries and agricultural infrastructure development, and communication and information technology support.

Population census

In September 2014, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation published a preliminary population census for Somalia. It is the first such governmental initiative in over two decades. The UNFPA assisted the Ministry in the project, which is slated to be finalized ahead of the planned plebiscite and local and national elections in 2016. According to Minister of Planning Mohamed and Deputy Prime Minister Ridwan Hirsi Mohamed, the census will facilitate the implementation of Vision 2016 and general development projects in the country. The Ministry of Planning also indicated that the preliminary census data suggests that there are around 12,360,000 residents in the nation, and that it plans to conduct a census of Somali expatriates.

Socotra sovereignty

The government of Somalia had previously made irredentist claims over the Socotra islands in the Guardafui Channel. The territorial claim would directly affect Puntland, as the archipalago lies directly off the town of Bereeda in Puntland. During Said Deni's tenure midwayin 2020, the question of Socotra's sovereignty came to the fore one's more, with the UAE claiming that it would recognize the island as Somali if the Somali government provided support for its endeavours in Yemen.