Somalilandsun : The British government is in pursuit of seeing talks between Somaliland and Somalia revived.
This was revealed by that country’s Minister for Africa James Duddrigde after completing a trip to Mogadishu where he held talks with the Somalia president Mohamed Abdilahi Farmajo.
“During our talks I encouraged President Farmajo to continue the dialogue and confidence-building efforts between Somalia and Somaliland that began in Djibouti earlier this year. ”said Minister Duddrigde
At the same time the British government has also made it that Somaliland should be brought on board as pertains access to support from the World Bank due to the progress made by Somalia in the Debt Forgiveness Process in heavily indebted countries.
“To this effort I underscored our hope that the people of Somaliland will benefit” said the UK minister.
A few days prior to the Somalia visit by Minister Duddrigde the government in London had indicated that it had no active plans to establish a fully fledged embassy in Hargeisa.
This was revealed in parliament following a question posed by MP Alexander Stafford of the Conservative party representing Rother Valley constituency.
Verbatim replies read
“The UK maintains a permanent presence in Somaliland through the British Office in Hargeisa which was established in 2012. UK officials engage with the Somaliland government on an ongoing basis on a broad range of issues.
The UK does not recognise Somaliland as an independent state. UK policy remains that it is for Somaliland and the Federal Government of Somalia to decide their future, and for neighbours in the region to take the lead in recognising any new arrangements. We continue to support and encourage dialogue between the two parties.”
Upon return from his Mogadishu visit the minister was again on the Docks in parliament this time from MP Andrew Rosindell who wanted to know the steps being taken by the United Kingdom to improve diplomatic relations with Somaliland
” although the UK does not recognize Somaliland, it has a multifaceted partnership with Britain, as part our commitment to the development of the whole of East Africa” said Minister James Duddridge, adding that
The UK does maintain her historical relationship with Somaliland, where she is the main donor in various sectors like health infrastructure, broad-based politics, humanitarian issues, security and justice.
