The federal government has announced that it will resume the talks the northern breakaway, Somaliland.
Speaking to hundreds of people at Banadir football stadium during the commemoration 58th anniversary of Somalia’s independence on 1st July, president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo said the government of Somalia is ready to resume the talks between Somalia and Somaliland.
“Somaliland is our brothers, despite hardship may have prompted to our division, this government is ready to resume true and genuine talks with Somaliland. Somalis are brothers” said president Farmajo.
President Farmajo however, did not disclose the exact date when the talks between Somalia and Somaliland will take place.
The sides have in the past held talks abroad despite lack of comprehensive agreement reached on the touching issues.
Somaliland raised hopes of a breakthrough in February this year after its foreign minister, Sa’ad Ali Shire said Somalia and Somaliland leaders would hold a meeting in Djibouti to pave way for further discussions between the two sides.
Despite the announcement, the meeting has not yet taken place.
In 2015 the Turkish-sponsored talks between the Somali government and the breakaway Somaliland collapsed with no tangible progress reached following hard conditions tabled by Somaliland.
The authorities of Somaliland accused Somali government of sending members who hail from the breakaway region to represent it at the talks.
Among the other issues, the sides disagreed on was the country’s airspace which was then under U.N. ICAO agency.
Somalia wanted Somalia’s air traffic to be controlled in Mogadishu where the leaders of the breakaway were demanding to be given full authority to control their own airspace.
Somaliland which declared a unilateral independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991 has been seeking an international recognition, however, their efforts haven’t so far proved successful.
On the other hand, president Farmajo has called for an immediate end of the fighting between the forces of Puntland and Somaliland in Tukaraq town of Sool region.
“The fighting in Tukaraq that shed the blood of innocent people should stop immediately” he said.
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