The president of Somalia's Puntland state Dr. Abdirahman Mohammed Farole has met on Friday Djibouti president Ismail Omar Geele, calling for more concerted efforts to end the escalating conflict in the war-torn Somalia.

The two leaders stressed the importance of restoring peace and stability in the horn of African country, acknowledging the crucial role Djibouti plays in the Somali peace process, a statement from Puntland President Office said.

The statement added that President Farole asked Djibouti leader to front the campaign to make the Somali issues a major agenda in the on-going African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

On his side, President Geele, who left for Addis Ababa summit on Friday, said the security situation in Somalia, particularly southern parts where fighting rages on, is of great concern to the region as a whole and needs urgent intervention.

Farole said the recent insecurity that has engulfed Puntland and neighboring self-declared republic of Somaliland is a product of what is happening in south and central Somalia, adding that it could have great impact on neighbouring countries such as Djibouti and Yemen.

Puntland president is in Djibouti as part of his week-long foreign trip that also saw him visit Libya and Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia and Libya, Farole stressed the good relationship between his government and the two countries, which pledged support for Puntland.

Puntland state, a collection of seven Somali regions that declared itself as an autonomous state in 1998, enjoys relative peace and remains part of a Federal Somalia.