Somaliland Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Affairs Dr. Saad Ali Shire has revealed that the stalled Somaliland/ Somalia talks may resume in the near future if circumstances permit.
The foreign Minister speaking to reporters said, “Somaliland and Somalia have meet nine times since the talks first began in 2012 in the UK and since then little has being achieved since then due to lack of commitment on the part of the federal government of Somalia. Somaliland, decided to suspend further talks with Somalia until the existing challenges were properly addressed that was in March 2015.
“As you’re well aware of a high-level delegation representing the Government of the Republic of Somaliland traveled to Istanbul, Turkey to participate in the next round of talks with the Federal Government of Somalia, as envisaged by the communiqué signed in Djibouti in December 2014 by the Presidents of Somaliland and Somalia. In the lead up to the Istanbul meeting, Somaliland wrote letters of protest to Somalia and Turkey for unilateral actions taken by Somalia which sought to undermine the Dialogue”, he said.
Dr. Saad added, “This included Somalia’s inclusion of officials of Somaliland nationality in its delegation. Both parties had agreed at the outset of the Dialogue process not to include representatives in their respective delegations who originated from the other nation.
“The sooner the reality on the ground is accepted by the other side and the sooner we can build a relationship based on mutual respect, trust and cooperation with regard to the talks, that’s when we hope to resume the talks”, he said.
