Somalilandsun-The minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation Dr.Sa’ad Ali Shire has spoken about the changes happening in the Horn of Africa. He said that the wind of change in the region will have implications on Somaliland.
The FM was speaking to Geeska Afrika Newspaper in an exclusive interview. He talked about the wind of change blowing in the Horn of Africa and its repercussions on Somaliland. Dr.Sa’ad went on to state that the Somalia government should treat Somaliland with respect the way Ethiopia has welcomed Eritrea.
Here are the excerpts from the interview……
Q-The changes that are ongoing in the Horn of Africa what implications does it have on Somaliland?
A-Any changes that is taking place in the Horn of Africa be it good or bad will affect us, but we hope for the best and any conflict that exist should be sorted out peacefully in a humane way.
Q-Now that Ethiopia and Eritrea have iron out their differences what can Somaliland expect from Somalia?
A-We can never expect Somalia to welcome our development and democracy or be pleased with Somaliland’s development record, but we hope that one day they will have their sanity back and recognize as an independent country.
Q- Ethiopia has started using the Asab port in Eritrea do you think this will affect the port of Berbera which Ethiopia wad expected to use?
A-Ethiopia uses all ports in the Horn of Africa it uses Djibouti, Asab, Berbera and Port Sudan. This is because Ethiopia is a huge country and very populous thus it is in her interest to use all the ports near her borders to for her economic development.
Q- Afore time you said that the UAE military base can bring bad omen to Somaliland can you please elaborate?
A-If we thought the UAE military base has dangers for Somaliland we would not have signed it but because her benefits surpasses her dangers we had to embrace it. The construction of Berbera International Port will commence earnestly in October. Also the Berbera- Wajale highway will follow suit.
Q- Can you furnish us with information about the Somaliland passport which the government announced that will be a valid travel document to the UAE?
A-The Somaliland passport will soon be valid travel document after the some technical as[pects of the deal are finalized.
