Somalia: Federal govt and Puntland to form joint committees
19 Aug 19, 2009 - 11:50:33 AM
GALKAYO, Somalia Aug 19 (Garowe Online) - Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Government of Puntland State have agreed to form joint committees to advance cooperation on many levels, Radio Garowe reports.
The federal government delegation, led by Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake, is in the Puntland city of Galkayo for talks with the State's president, Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed "Farole," and other government officials.
Three committees will appointed, according to government sources, who identified them as: a political committee, an economic cooperation and social affairs committee, and finally, a law and security committee.
The two-way talks, being held at Galkayo's Taar City Hotel, are the first between the Puntland Government and the TFG, ever since Sheikh Sharif Ahmed became Somalia's interim president after the conclusion of the Djibouti peace talks last January.
Meanwhile, security is tight in Galkayo, an important trade town that links Puntland with the central regions of Somalia, where insurgents have been fighting to topple the TFG since early 2007.
Puntland is located in northeastern Somalia and has a functioning government, which is the first state in Somalia to adopt federalism, the founding principle of the UN-recognized TFG in Mogadishu.
Source: Garowe Online
