Somaliland’s Foreign Minister visits Addis Ababa
Here in Addis Ababa, yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hailemariam Desalegn held talks with Somaliland Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullahi Omar. Dr. Omar briefed Minister Hailemariam on the current developments in Somaliland in terms of consolidating peace and stability. He mentioned last week’s donors’ meeting in Hargeisa, the first such meeting for nineteen years. Donors have now pledged to provide direct budgetary support. All previous assistance had been confined to humanitarian aid. Minister Hailemariam congratulated the administration in creating a working relationship and collaboration with the Puntland administration. He also thanked the Somaliland administration for its prompt action, in collaboration with Ethiopian security forces, against the ONLF terrorists, trained and armed in Eritrea, who recently tried to smuggle themselves into Ethiopia through Somaliland. In discussion of developments in south Somalia, the two ministers agreed there was no option than continuing to support the TFG, even though its leadership had yet to deliver concrete results for the transition. They also agreed that collaboration in peace and security should be further strengthened as well as in economic areas, linking the movement of goods and services in accordance with the customs transit agreement signed in May 2005 covering all issues relating to the Berbera corridor, including tariffs and vehicle movements comprehensively.