Somaliland delegation to the talks between the Republic of Somaliland and the Federal Government of Somalia left Hargeysa Friday aboard a Turkish special flight on courtesy of the government of Turkey.
The talks previously scheduled for the 26th were postponed to 1st March to give the Somalia delegation space they asked for, although the Somaliland side was not consulted on the delay, hence the departure for Istanbul today.
The Somaliland Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mohamed Behi Yonis, speaking to the press at the airport said their delegation was going there to see to it that concrete steps towards the achievement of national sovereignty was taken and that issues the two sides fully endorsed before were fulfilled without further delay.
Minister Behi, on a question on what measures they had in place to meet a situation where the other side brought Somaliland-born turncoats to the negotiating table to cloud the issue of an Italian Somalia talking with the SomalilandProtectorate of 1960, replied “there is no way Somaliland can accept that. Otherwise, there would have been no point in starting the talks between the two sides in the first place. It is the two states that joined in the ill-fated union of 1960 with their internationally recognized borders and ethnic populations talking and that cannot be sidetracked however one may try to.”
Other members of the Somaliland delegation included Mohamoud Hashi Abdi, Aviation Minister, Dr. Farah Elmi Geedoole, Agriculture), Dr. Abdi Aw Dahir, Animal Husbandry, Deputy House Speaker of House of Representatives, Pasha M Farah, Deputy House Speaker of the Elders, Saeed Jama Ali, and Jirde Saeed and Ahmed Abdi Kijandhe, members of the bi-cameral House of parliament.
The delegation held consultation meetings with Somaliland national parties a day before to note their contributions.
For more details, please open the press briefing on video below:
