By: Staff Writer
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – On 20 November 2012, the government of the Republic of Somaliland had the honour of welcoming to Hargeisa a high-level delegation from the United Nations that is conducting a system-wide strategic review of its presence in the country. This delegation included representatives from the UN’s offices in the region as well as from the UN’s headquarters in New York.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Mohamed Abdillahi Omar, briefed the delegation on Somaliland’s views regarding the objectives, priorities and structure of a UN presence in the country.
He called for a UN to acknowledge Somaliland’s 20-year history of peace and stability, and its independent and unique status. He also requested that the UN deal with Somaliland directly and not through its offices in the region. The Minister highlighted the constructive role that Somaliland plays on issues such as counter-piracy, anti-terrorism, regional peace and security as well as its democratic credentials as proof of the Somaliland government’s credibility as a cooperative and independent international actor.
Dr. Omar encouraged the UN to play a more active role in facilitating the dialogue between Somaliland and Somalia based on the framework previously agreed upon by both countries at the first round of talks at Chevening House in the UK in June of this year.
Dr. Omar and the UN delegation also discussed areas of future collaboration and assistance based on the priorities of Somaliland, including security sector reform, improving environment, health and education services, youth employment and the private sector development. The Minister thanked the various UN agencies for the invaluable support they had provided to Somaliland to-date, and reminded the UN not to lose sight of the importance of continuing to support Somaliland, which has reached a different stage of development than its southern neighbour.
The UN representatives noted the progress Somaliland has made over the last 21 years, and hoped that the lessons learned from its peacebuilding and democratisation process could inform similar processes in Somalia. The UN noted that its review exercise would be used to align the organisation’s work with the national priorities of Somaliland.
Press office
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hargeisa, Republic of Somaliland
