The government of Somalia announced today that it has signed an agreement with Russia to forgive more than $684 million in debt owed by the Russian government to Somalia.

The agreement was signed in Saint Petersburg, Russia, by the Minister of Finance of Somalia, Biihi Iman Cige, and the Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia, Timur Igorevich Maksimov.

This is a historic day for Somalia, said Minister Cige. The debt forgiveness agreement will allow us to focus on the future and build a better future for our people.

The debt forgiveness agreement is also a sign of the growing cooperation between Russia and Somalia. The two countries have been working together to strengthen their economic ties in recent years.

We are committed to working with Somalia to build a brighter future for the Somali people, said Deputy Minister Maksimov. The debt forgiveness agreement is a symbol of our commitment to this partnership.

The debt forgiveness agreement is the latest step in Somalias efforts to achieve debt relief. In 2020, Somalia was declared eligible for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The HIPC Initiative is a program that provides debt relief to countries that have met certain economic and social criteria.

Somalia is expected to receive official decision on debt relief from the Executive Committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the end of this year. The debt relief will significantly reduce Somalias debt burden and free up resources for the government to invest in its people and economy.

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Somali authorities have arrested several military officers for allegedly helping a suicide bomber gain entry to a military academy in the capital Mogadishu this week and kill at least 30 soldiers, an officer said on Wednesday.

The Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, which has been waging an insurgency against Somalias national government since 2006, claimed responsibility for the attack at the Jale Siyaad military academy.

The attack was one of the deadliest the group has carried out in years against a military target in Mogadishu.

Colonel Abdullahi Dabow, an infantry operations officer, has been arrested and accused of bringing the suicide bomber into the academy in his car, Captain Hussein Farah told Reuters.

He said other officers had also been arrested in connection with the attack, without naming them.

Reuters was not able to reach Dabow or a representative for comment.

Many Somalis have long suspected that al Shabaab operatives have infiltrated parts of the government and military, but arrests had been rare until recently.

In the past few months, the authorities have arrested dozens of police and military officers on suspicion of helping al Shabaab to carry out attacks against soldiers and civilians, local government officials have told Reuters.

The central authorities have not commented on these arrests, and government officials did not respond to requests for comment.

After Mondays attack, parliament speaker Aden Mohamed Nur Madobe called on the security services to investigate and arrest al Shabaab collaborators.

The idea that a suicide bomber just comes in a military queue in a military base is not something that can be accepted. This is killing the confidence of the people, he said in comments broadcast on local television.

A military campaign by government forces and allied militiamen against al Shabaab since last year has pushed the militants out of large swathes of territory, but the group continues to stage frequent attacks.

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