Nairobi, 3rd November, 2016 – A high-level delegation from the Government of #Somaliland arrived is set to return to #Hargeisa on Sunday after a successful 4-day visit to Nairobi, Kenya to meet with Ambassadors from #Denmark, #Germany, #Netherlands, #Norway, #Sweden and the European Union, Heads of UN agencies and donors and development partners #DANIDA, #DFID, #EU, #GIZ and #USAID.
The delegation was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation and Minister of National Planning & Development of the Republic of Somaliland. The Ministers were accompanied by an expert technical team from their respective Ministries.
The purpose of the visit to #Nairobi was to meet with Ambassadors and country representatives from the donor community and heads of development partners to discuss a number of important issues including Somaliland’s National Development Plan (NDP), upcoming elections, emergency and development assistance and security cooperation. There were discussions in relation to the recent investment in the Port of Berbera by DP World and the importance of the Addis Ababa-Berbera Corridor with donors and development partners agreeing on the importance of the investment in the Port of #Berbera, it’s strategic location as a gateway to Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa and importance towards regional economic integration.
H.E. Minister Shire, Somaliland Foreign Minister, thanked the diplomatic and development partners for their continued cooperation with the #Government of Somaliland and made an urgent request for immediate emergency support to deal with droughts in Eastern Somaliland and migration flows from Ethiopia and Yemen. H.E. Minister Ismail and highlighted the need for donor support which should be aligned with Somaliland National Development Plan II (NDP2) and for donors to maintain ongoing efforts with strengthening Public Financial Management (PFM) and capacity building within statistics, improving monitoring and evaluation systems and applying mutual accountability measures.
Additionally, Somaliland Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Saad Ali Shire also met with the newly appointed US Ambassador Stephen M. Schwartz, United States Mission to Somalia/Somaliland and the British Deputy Ambassador Andrew Allen to discuss the upcoming Presidential and recently delayed parliamentary elections in Somaliland, the prospects of dialogue with Somalia, and how to further deepen Somalia and Somaliland talks, democracy and human rights in Somaliland, and improve security cooperation. They also discussed Berbera Port and Corridor as well as initiatives to boost economic growth to tackle the scourge of youth unemployment.
