Somalia, Somaliland sign 'talks' deal

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (left), Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (centre) and Somaliland's President Ahmed Siilaanyo (right) during a past meeting in Ankara, on April 13, 2013. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Somaliland Foreign Minister Yonis indicated that the environment created between the two sides was conducive enough to encourage further talks.
  • The two sides agreed on the continuation of the talks facilitated by Turkey while scheduling the next meeting to take place in 90 days.
  • The representatives crafted a roadmap to guide future dialogue, including the formation of an Istanbul-based Secretariat to frame the agenda prior to the ministerial talks.

The Federal Government of Somalia and the self-declared Republic of Somaliland signed an accord, reports from Turkey have confirmed.

The two sides were engaged in three-day talks moderated by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Somaliland Foreign Minister Yonis indicated that the environment created between the two sides was conducive enough to encourage further talks.

“We see no obstacles in the continuation of the negotiations between Somaliland and Somalia,” he said.

The two sides agreed on the continuation of the talks facilitated by Turkey while scheduling the next meeting to take place in 90 days.

The representatives crafted a roadmap to guide future dialogue, including the formation of an Istanbul-based Secretariat to frame the agenda prior to the ministerial talks.

COMPLETE FREEDOM

Observers of the talks in Istanbul believe that thorny issues are still pending.

“Somaliland is pushing for complete freedom from the rest of Somalia while the Federal Government of Somalia wishes to retain the unity of Somalia,” Hassan Mohamoud, a media analyst in Mogadishu, told Nation.co.ke.

According to Dr Kahlid Omar Ali, the new Somali Minister of Sports and Youth Development, his side is satisfied with the achievement.

“This accord represents good preliminary steps towards further discussions on more pressing issues,” he said on Sunday.

The minister noted that the main document was drafted in Somali language because the Provisional Constitution of Somalia demands that all agreements reached by the government are drafted in Somali language, but can be translated to any other language.

CONDEMNED ATROCITIES

The Federal Government’s delegation was led by Abdikarim Hussein Guled, the Minister of National Security, while the Somaliland mission was headed by the authority’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Bihi Yonis.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Turkish Ambassador to Somalia Cemalettin Kani Torun.

Somaliland proclaimed independence from the rest of Somalia after the collapse of the central government of Somalia led by the late dictator General Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

The Somali and Somaliland governments condemned atrocities caused by the military regime in the 1980s, especially against the people in the north-western regions of Somalia, which now mainly constitute the breakaway Somaliland.

Prior to the third round of talks in Turkey, the two sides held talks in London, UK and Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2012.

Earlier agreements included the formation of a joint committee to work on how to control the airspace of Somalia, a duty surrendered by the United Nations to Somalia, following accords reached in Nairobi, Kenya.