His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland, today, received at his office a visiting Djibouti delegation led by Interior Minister Hassan Omar Mohamed Burhan.
The Djboutienne delegation arrived in Somaliland on an official invitation extended them by the government of Somaliland to, as stated, consolidate far-reaching ties between the two countries, and to convey a written message His Excellency the President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Gheelle, addressed to his counterpart in the Republic of Somaliland, His Excellency, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud “Siilaanyo”.
The Minister’s delegation, according to a statement published on the Somaliland Presidency’s official Facebook Page, included the General Commander of the Djiboutienne Police forces, Colonel Abdullahi Abdi Farah, Immigration Office Director, Abdulkadir Ibrahim Goba, Head of Anti-terrorism forces, Elmi Ibrahim and Abdulkadir Fathi, Advisor to the Minister of Interior.
His Excellency the President of Somaliland cordially expressed his confidence that the two nations will sgtep on to new grounds in the development of multi-pronged relations that will, hopefully, restore the vast trust between the two countries.
President Siilaanyo reciprocated President Gheelle’s message, asking the delegation to assure the president of Somaliland’s depth of relations in regard to Djibouti.
At the conclusion of the courtesy visit the visiting delegation paid the President at the Somaliland presidential palace, H.E. Yassin Mohamoud Faraton, the Somaliland interior Minister, told the press that the two sides will be extensively meeting on issues of mutual import during the delegation’s stay in order to further cement bilateral relations.
Minister Burhan, on his turn, spoke briefly of how critical it was that the two countries, the two brotherly nations resolve all issues that may be a wedge between them.
The Minister, though he did not specify any of them, alluded to outstanding issues between the two countries that needed ironing out. The two neighborly countries have not been in the best of terms following Djibouti’s unswerving – often insensitive – support to a Mogadishu government that leaves no stone unturned to sweep the Republic of Somaliland again into its domination.
“Problems occur but, then, there are people (men) that solve them,” he said.
It was very significant, though, that the minister did not shy away from using the words ‘countries’ in reference to Djibouti and Somaliland, a term that Mogadishu will certainly take umbrage at as it believes that it has a monopoly on Djibouti attention following the latter’s army presence within the Amisom command to defend Mogadishu of Al Shabaab.
The delegation visited the Somaliland Firefighters Command where Colonel Ahmed Swahili briefed it of its nascent history and the commendable achievements the unit had made possible since inception.
Both Somaliland and Djibouti were part of a Greater Somalia dream in the 40s and 50s out of which the first two of the five – Somaliland and Somalia – formed the union that was called the Somali Republic right after independence in the hope that the remaining three – Hawd & Reserve Area & Ogadenia of Ethiopia, Djibouti and the Northern Frontier District of Kenya (NFD) will follow suit and join them to bring the Greater Somalia drive to reality.
