His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland, Musa Bihi Abdi, today, received the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the United Staes Mission to Somalia/Somaliland, Martin Dale, at the Presidential Palace, Hargeisa, to discuss several issues of monumental import to Somaliland and the region, the Presidency Spokesman, Mohamoud Warsame Jama, told the press.
The issues discussed, Mohamoud Said, largely revolved around points of agreement His Excellency the President and delegates from IGAD and UNSOM reached at their meeting last Sunday on, mainly, the extenuation of a recurrence of armed conflict now feared at the Tukkaraq area of Sool.
The discussion centered, largely, on a follow-up of the four points which His Excellency the President previously agreed with the international delegates and how best they could be implemented, namely: (1) the exchange of prisoners of war; (2) Immediate ceasefire; (3)opening communication channels between the commanders of the two sides which, eventually, would lead to a dialogue between the leaders to ease tensions; (4) the facilitation of humanitarian aid reaching conflict-displaced civilians.
Chargé d’Affaires Dale, who is also the acting ambassador, presently, hoped that Somaliland-Somalia talks are revived as soon as was can be done to an agreement mutually not only agreeable to both sides but truly beneficial to the people of Somalia and Somaliland, too.
The two sides, also, explored possible US support on upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for early on in 2019.
Mr. Dale, it is reported, commended the President and the people of Somaliland on the remarkable achievements attained in stabilizing country, in democracy, in peace reconciliations, on the one-man, one-vote elections the country had successfully put behind it, and how democratically they were conducted by and large.
His Excellency the President assured the US Mission Chargé d’Affaires that Somaliland was committed to peace albeit the fact the current battleground between the federal Somalia state of Puntland and the army of the Republic of Somaliland was some 70 kilometers inside Somaliland boundaries.
The President reiterated that his government had no qualms about re-starting the talks with Somalia but that they were not very certain about Somalia’s intentions and plans about the continuation of the talks on a fruitful course.
At the meeting between the President and the Chargé d’Affaires, H.E. the Foreign Minister of Somaliland, Dr. Saad Ali Shire was present.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on its Facebook page, said the talks, besides th deescalation of th Tukkaraq hostilities, included “geopolitical and regional security, upcoming local and parliamentary elections, resuming Somaliland and Somalia talks, abd strengthening the bilateral ties between the two nations”.
[…] Somaliland: President Bihi, US Mission Charge’ D’Affaires Discuss Prevailing Issues of Import […]