Djibouti Delegation meets with Somaliland government

Medeshi Nov. 30, 2008
Djibouti Delegation meets with Somaliland government
HARGEISA, Somaliland -A delegation from Djibouti has promised to give extra consideration towards recognizing Somaliland as a nation state.
Mr. Hashi Abdilahi, special advisor to President Ismail Omar Guelleh, said: "After the terrorist attacks in Somaliland, we will think of what we can do about unstable Somalia, which we have spent time and energy on dealing with for so long, but is still suffering without a stable and committed government."
The advisor, who was part of the delegation that spent two days in Hargeisa, added: "We will definitely work closely with Somaliland no matter what other Somalis will feel, but I am not going to say things in advance; you Somalilanders must wait, bearing in mind that we,Djibouti, are considering the case for independence." The delegation was led by the finance minister of Djibouti Minister, Ali Farah Asowe. He gave an exclusive interview with the SSI and mentioned that the main aim of their trip was to discuss areas of mutual interest to both nations and a proposal for a branch of the third largest French private bank in Hargeisa, scheduled for January 2009.
He also briefly talked about how the high prices of food and oil affected their preparations for next year's budget. He said: "It slowed down the usual thinking of the preparations, but we have all the funds from the IMF, the World Bank, the AU, the EU, and so on. I think Somaliland, which is not getting such assistance, and also had the disaster of the terror attacks, should be a role model to the Djibouti government and its people who lost their will towards doing things for themselves and instead wait for international community's assistance." The Somaliland minister of finance, Mr.Hussein Ali Duale, who organized the visit, said: "We are part of Africa, specifically the horn of Africa, and we welcome all our neighbours."
A Somaliland delegation will go to Djibouti on December 7th to open trade offices in both countries and further discuss the opening of bank branches in Somaliland.
The President of Somaliland Dahir Rayaale Kahin held talks on the last day of the delegation's visit and thanked them for offering their support to Somaliland during the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on October 29th. The Sub-Saharan Informer