Somalia: Puntland delegation meets U.S., U.N. and A.U. officials in Djibouti
PRESS RELEASE
January 19, 2011
A government delegation from Puntland State of Somalia led by His Excellency President Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud (Farole) arrived in Djibouti City on Wednesday.
The President’s delegation left the Puntland capital of Garowe at 10:00 A.M. in the morning with a delegation consisting of Planning and International Cooperation Daud Mohamed Omar, Environment Minister Abdigani Yusuf Adde, Ports Minister Saeed Mohamed Rage and presidential staffers.
Before departing from Garowe Airport, President Farole told reporters that the delegation was invited to Djibouti by the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) for discussions.
The Puntland President’s delegation was welcomed at the Djibouti International Airport by Ambassador Augustine Mahiga, the U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia.
During the day’s first meeting, the Puntland delegation was received at the Embassy of France for discussions regarding anti-piracy cooperation and development matters.
In the afternoon, the delegation met privately with a U.S. government delegation led by U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti, His Excellency James Swan. Ambassador Swan was accompanied by Ms. Cheryl Sim, Somalia Affairs Councilor at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, which is responsible for Somalia.
Discussions with the U.S. officials centered around the Puntland government’s decision to stop cooperation with the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu.
The Puntland delegation justified the reasons for the Puntland Cabinet decision of January 16, 2011. Other topics included Puntland’s share in the training of Somali security forces, the establishment of the Puntland Marine Force training program in Bossaso, the fight against Al Shabaab and terrorism, and the U.S. position on TFG plans for a term-extension.
U.N. Envoy to Somalia Ambassador Mahiga was accompanied by his security adviser, Col. John Steed. Discussions centered around the “diplomatic incident” involving the TFG, Puntland and UNPOS, as well as the way forward after the TFG mandate expires.
Ambassador Mahiga praised Puntland as a “role model” for the rest of Somalia. He expressed the international community’s “shared concerns” about the Puntland-TFG rift, while stating that Puntland has a legitimate role to play as he works to “build a consensus” regarding the way forward after the TFG mandate expires.
The day concluded for the Puntland delegation after a meeting with the African Union’s special envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Boubacar Goussou Diara. Ambassador Diara was accompanied to the meeting by Maj. Gen. Nathan Mugisha, the Force Commander of the African Union peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) in Mogadishu.
The meeting was focused on strengthening cooperation between Puntland and AMISOM, as well as discussions on security and the fight against Al Shabaab insurgents. Ambassador Diara explained AU plans for Somalia and agreed with Puntland’s assessment that Al Shabaab insurgents are amassing forces in the central regions and are planning to attack the peaceful region of Puntland.
