Somaliland Minister of Civil Aviation and Air Transport Hon Mahmoud Hashi Abdi accompanied two ministerial legal experts flew out of the country today headed to Ankara, Turkey to discuss the issue Air Traffic Control management with SFG officials.
In a Press Statement released today by the Director General in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air Transport Mr. Omer Abdillahi Aden stated as Follows
The Minister of Civil Aviation Air Transport Hon Mahmoud Hashi Abdi and accompanied by Mr. Said Mahdi Ileeye(Saqirro) and Mr. Mahmoud Bihi Taarwale both who are part of the Ministry’s legal team by in accordance with article 8.The parties agreed to appoint an ad-hoc technical committee composed of 4 members, ( two from each party) toprepare the terms of reference of the Air Traffic Control Board. The Technical Committee work will be supervised by the respective two Ministers.
The Minister of Civil Aviation and Air Transport Shall brief the nation of the outcomes of the proposed upcoming in the coming days.
Signed By
Mr. Omer Abdillahi Aden
Director General
Somaliland Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air Transport
Hargeisa-Somaliland Minister of Energy and Minerals Hon Hussein Abdi Dualeh was among those attending a one day youth integration basketball tournament held today in Hargeisa intended to promote social integration through promoting sports and aims to bring together youths from different social backgrounds for joint sporting activities that will help facilitate an environment in which they all interact.
Tamarta and Wahabarashada basketball teams squared off at the famous Tima Aade Centre in central Hargeisa aimed to use sport to address issues such as school dropouts, violence among youths and drug awareness.
I want the youths to know that we are all working for their better future because a sport in general is good for the physical wellbeing by keeping their body and mind healthy. These games are meant to help the youth stay away from drug abuse, illegal migration and other social vices. I urge our youngsters to enjoy the games and integrate well with the peers,” Energy Minister said before kicking a ball to open the one day basketball Tournament.
Hon Hussein Abdi Dualeh promised more support for youth programs through the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Resource basketball team which is sponsored by his Ministry which supply’s them with uniforms and other sports kit with the hopes the tournament will help nurture football and basketball talent as well as help it pick the best sportsmen who will in the future represent Somaliland in such international tournament. He urged the sporting youth to enjoy the opportunity presented to them.
“This is a very important event in Somaliland because youth are the most important and the largest group in the community. For the sake of integration, we hope this sporting event will help foster unity among the youth of Somaliland,” Hon Mahmoud Warfaa the deputy chairman of the ruling party central committee in Hargeisa stadium.
Hon Warfaa added “We are very glad our young players have been given this opportunity to take part in this important basketball tournament. The competition will help us pick the best youngsters who will automatically join the junior national team whom we hope to nurture and prepare well for future representation of Somaliland in international competitions.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase our talent. We really thank Ministry of Energy and Minerals and Ministry of Education and Higher Learning for organizing and funding this competition. The morale is very high among the boys and each one of us just wants to enjoy this rare sporting opportunity which will help foster friendship and integration among the youth of Hargeisa,” Mr. Mahmoud Tamarta Captain.
The one day basketball tournament was overseen by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and closely managed by both the Somaliland Basketball Federation and the Football Federation, the two bodies that run football and basketball affairs in Somaliland.
Tamarta emerged as the winners with 43 points over their opponents Wahbarashada 35 points.
The Chairman of the Justice and Welfare party (UCID) Hon Feisal Ali Waraabe was among members of the Socialist International Africa Committee who are currently meeting in Tanzania, hosted by the SI member party in that country, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, CCM.
The Chairman of the Justice and Welfare party Hon Feisal Ali Waraabe and other top party officials were among those other representatives from 20 other African nations which took part in the two day event held in the Julius Nyerere International Convention center after being invited by the chairman of Chama Cha Mapinduzi, the ruling party in Tanzania, CCM Hon Abdurrahman Kanini.
CCM Hon Abdurrahman Kanini addressing the social international gathering also touched on the legacy of the late President Julius Nyerere who through his African socialist “Ujamaa” collectives united his nation and made major advances in the fields of health and education and being the founders of the Socialist International.
The secretary General of Socialist International Lius Ayale speaking at the event said, “Most of the African countries gained independence during the 1960s, some of these newly formed governments rejected the ideas of capitalism in favour of a more afrocentric economic model. Advocates of African socialism claimed that it was not the opposite of capitalism nor a response to it, but something completely different.
Mr. Lius Ayale also paid tribute to the late Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Léopold Senghor of Senegal, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Sékou Touré of Guinea, who were the main architects of African Socialism and I am glad to say most African countries which gained independence at the time embraced the socialist ideology.
The President of Tanzania H.E President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete hosted a dinner in honor of members of the Socialist International Africa Committee attending the two at the Presidential Palace in Dar salaam.
Chairman of UCID Hon Feisal Ali Waraabe and the Secretary General of CCM Hon Abdurrahman Kanini to discuss future cooperation between the two political parties and how the Tanzania’s ruling party would in the future assist the Justice and welfare party (UCID) in the future to training and enhancing the role of youth and women
Among the issues discussed at the two day event were (1) Our commitment to peace and the resolution of conflicts in the region; (3) Participative democracy, solid institutions and good governance; (4) For an economy that serves all the people, respects nature and provides growth; (5) Brief reports on national situations in countries of the region; (6) Statement of the meeting; (7) Date and venue of the next meeting of the Committee.
Attending the meeting were participants from 21 countries namely Tanzania, Algeria, Angola, Somaliland, Benin, Cameroon, Chana, Greece, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, morocco, Namibia, South africa, Swaziland, Western sahara, Lesotho, Cap verde and Zambia,
The Socialist International is the worldwide organisation of social democratic, socialist and labour parties. It currently brings together 155 political parties and organisations from all continents.
In world standards, on almost all graphs illustrating the economic being of countries large and small, rich and poor in the world, a struggling Somaliland is valiantly climbing up from an unenviable bottom slot.
The strongest rung on the ladder to a brighter future for Somaliland is embodied in its initiatives to develop its oil and mineral resources. Despite both the covert and overt efforts to thwart this climb towards a more plentiful future on the part of formidable competitors and enemies, Somaliland has braved the gauntlet and secured a number of agreements with a number of internationally renowned companies, and a few regional ones. The understanding with all was that interested companies develop the concessions given them expediently. None of the MOUs agreed to to-be-shelved signatures holding on to concessions that would remain only as ink on paper without the least effort to do anything tangible towards their development. A dream on paper. Or, rather, opportunistic material to rent out to more able developers when the time came as such is the case with so many names that, indeed, proved to be names only without the substance or the temerity to step out on to the limelight – or reality.
That the Republic of Somaliland decided to explore the riches in the depths of its soil is a true reflection of its quest for an equitable future for all.
The move answers all our aspirations for a more developed, universal education for all, better equipped health facilities, more skilled labor force, higher living standards for all, a better organized security system for Somaliland and the region, and above all, an insurance for a more secure future for all Somalilanders.
As is always the case with all great things, evil forces, hitherto lurking in doomed shadows, raise their heads and test resolve. Opposition lunges out in many forms: to cloud issues, to stop progress, to place obstacles along the way, to plant the seeds of doubt in people’s minds, to ferment and create unrest among society elements crucial to general and/or specific development schemes, to physically and psychologically thwart fight against debilitating ill health, decimating ignorance, perpetual indigence and the upward surge for self and national welfare – among others.
Among us, in Somaliland, such forces are inching their heads up stealthily to spit out venom that bodes ill for all that we have steadfastly and painstakingly built for ourselves in the eyes of the international community: security for all, unfettered economic development, peaceful coexistence among ourselves and wit other in the region, quest for self-sustenance, forward drive for diplomatic recognition, development of oil and mineral resources, upgrade of livestock exports, modernization of sea and air ports, etc. etc.
A committee that one of the opposition parties recently nominated, headed by a foreign national, is already seeding vile doubts.
A so-called journalist, notorious for blackmails, is greedily foraging for tidbits, used Hummer car parts and liquor replenishment, is another. This particular, on a solo crusade of his own, has specifically targeted mineral/oil exploration efforts in Somaliland pretending that his is an ax wielded against the honorable Minister heading the revival of our trust on land and flag alone.
In connection with oil and mineral matters, the man, Gabobe – to be exact, has published fabricated lies against the Minister, the government he represents, the President and his family – about eight times since December 2013 (20 December, 26 December, 27 December 2013, 6 January 2014, 28 January, 25 March, 28 March, and 29 March).
The objective of the attack is manifold to: (a) undermine the drive towards oil and minerals exploitation in order to develop national infrastructure and relevant services; (b) sow doubt in the minds of prospecting companies; (c) propagate suspicion and mistrust among communities whose areas are to be prospected; and (d) above all, to derail and stop the onward journey of the Somaliland development train.
None of the above serves Somaliland interests. They, instead, indisputably prove that Mr. Gabobe has further slid down to the world of industrial espionage, serving masters that are loyal to their fat notes only. This minion of a man serving them is a menace to none but to himself, the security of the whole region and the very interests which sincere partners of development intrinsically seek.
The post transitional Somali leaders elected in 2012 were entrusted with the special duty to lead a full-fledged state of Somalia with its sovereignty, unity, economic recovery, security, and institutional capacity restored and to conduct a free and fair national political election in 2016. Despite the ongoing armed conflict and social and political fragmentation in the country, many Somalis wanted to believe in the possibility of realizing these clearly remote goals because of new international approach for supporting the failed states like Somalia. The diplomatic recognition of the United States was special a special opportunity to seize it.
However, the fulfillment of statebuilding and political election in 2016 has immediately become an impossible dream for the convergence of at least four factors: 1. The hostile actions of Kenya and Ethiopia to practically deprive the federal government of leadership and relevance role in Somalia; 2. The federal government’s incapacity to own and implement a national coherent policy tailored to the new era of statebuilding, reconciliation, international relations and governance; 3. President Hassan’s inability to shake off the pervasive perception of belonging to or depending on a self-centered group with sinister agenda; 4. The duplicity and empty commitments of the international community of photo-ops and conferences without substantive and timely direct support.
These factors and other events like the violent attacks of Al Shabab on important institutions in Mogadishu, the fallout between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and former Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon, the publication of the damning resignation letter of former Governor of the Central Bank of Somalia Madam Yussur Abrar, and frequent fruitless foreign travels, fed negative reports in the international media against the federal government. Reuters and other newspapers published articles accusing the federal government of corruption and internal paralysis. The influential magazine- the Economist described the ongoing AMISOM offensive against Al Shabab as a sideshow and suggested that president Hassan once popular with donors has lost his aura.
Inexplicably, the federal government seems unconcerned about the adverse effects of the unfavorable comments coming from different quarters including from its strongest supporter- the United States. But, the federal government should engage the Somali people with vision, openness, conviction, consistency, and respect of democratic values enshrined in the Provisional Constitution in order to gain respect and confidence both inside and outside.
High Level Partnership Forum (HLPF)
The negative assessments have emboldened the hands of the representatives of the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), and Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Somalia to the point of extorting the sovereignty from the Somali government and imposing arbitrary clan based federation which has inflamed new tensions throughout the country. The extortion of sovereignty occurred when the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG) (preferably called UN Administrator) Ambassador Nicolas Kay became the co-chair with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at the High Level Partnership Forum (HLPF) on the implementation of the New Deal predicated on the respect of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of Somalia. HLPF is another layer of super- structure created to confuse the Somali society and institutions. HLPF held in Mogadishu on Feb 24, 2014 was organized by AMISOM, a move itself an anomaly because AMISOM competes to get a lion share of the foreign assistance earmarked to Somalia.
The Speeches of Ambassador Nicolas Kay and President Hassan at HLPF indicate the wide gulf between the two unequal partners. In face of UN extortion, the federal government surrendered cowardly the sovereignty and leadership of Somalia.
According to Press Release signed by the presidential spokesman Eng Yarisow, President Hassan focused on four points: 1. He downplayed the impact of the attack on Villa Somalia and characterized it as an occasional act of terrorism designed to fool others; 2. he touted the progress made in the past two years; 3. He countered the report of Somalia and Eritrea UN Monitoring Group on the diversion of weapons and ammunitions; 4. finally, he announced the establishment of Financial Governance Committee and asked the donors to act and deliver the 2.4 billion dollar pledges made at the New Deal conference in Brussels on 16 September 2013.
In contrast, the prepared remarks of the “UN Administrator” Nicolas Kay posted on UNSOM website stressed the following points: 1. That the federal government runs out of time for the implementation of many key tasks like completing the constitution, forming federal states, and implementing political democratization; 2. That the Federal Government has to act without delay on the UN report that outlines the steps needed to take for holding the 2016 election -like the establishment of the election management bodies; 3. That the establishment of the Financial Governance Committee is welcomed but has to be examined later; 4. That Puntland and Jubbaland should be considered as de facto federal states and given a prominent role within the Somali Compact and its bodies; President Uhuru of Kenya and PM Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia welcome the leaders of Puntland and Jubbaland more warmly than President Hassan of Somalia. 5. That the federal government should produce a detailed plan on the stabilization of local administrations before appealing for international assistance.
On March 11, Ambassador Nicolas Kay told the UN Security Council (UNSC) from Mogadishu, “I’m on the ground in Mogadishu and not with you in New York due to the intensity of events at this moment.” President Hassan, Prime Minister Abdiweli Sh Ahmed and other Ministers were abroad for personal profile. Mary Harper, BBC veteran, posted Nicolas Kay’s briefing in her blog with the title “Who runs Somalia? The UN, the Federal Government, or both?”
Somalia needs the international support to achieve political stability and security within its borders, but the present partnership is leading to nowhere. In difference to the usual flow of international aid from donor to recipient countries, donors allocate and manage the assistance to Somalia. This kind of aid management on behalf of Somalia has created armies of international intermediaries that receive the aid to Somalia. The role of the Federal Government is a rubber stamp in exchange for commissions and allowances. Source informed me that the 40 million dollar assistance announced by the Government of Japan during President Hassan’s visit was transferred to UN months ago.
Discriminatory approach between Jubbaland and Southwestern federal States
The strong opposition of AU-IGAD and UN to genuine dialogue among Somali stakeholders on the issue of federalism has set off the chaotic formation of clan based entities with difficulty to challenge their boundaries. In the context of clan competition, the clan claim over land ownership is more important than regional administrative boundaries. The Federal Government cannot play a leading role in the implementation of a hypothetical federal system without legitimate representatives of the national stakeholders reach unassailable consensus on the suitable model of governance and then enacted into law.
The operational policy of Ambassador Nicolas Kay which states, “the UN will continue to back the voices of hope, not despair, of opportunity, not crisis” has been translated into “ignore and marginalize the opinion and voice of the majority of the people and empower villain politicians and groups.” In his briefing to the UNSC on March 11, Ambassador Nicolas Kay said that the gulf between the six and three regions state rival camps remains wide but the UN supports the three groups while at the same time calling for dialogue. UN calls the shot and plants the causes for division and grievances.
UN and AU-IGAD cannot hide behind a dodgy federal government; and the abusive show of their envoys in reaction to the popular election of President Madobe Nuunow of the Southwestern State composed of six regions, headquartered in Baidoa has been responded courageously and unanimously by the majority of Digil and Mirifle community.
AU-IGAD and UN were not ashamed by forcing the recognition of the unilateral and self-anointed leadership of militia leader Ahmed Madobe while ferociously attacking and refusing to recognize the leadership of the moderate politician Madobe Nuunow. This is blatant discriminatory approach. It is unfortunate to take note that the umpires over the dispute between the Southwestern and Jubbaland States are Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Afey and Eng Mahboub Maalim both of Somali Kenyan nationals who are Envoy and Executive Secretary of IGAD respectively. The subtexts of this spectacle have fed gossip among Somalis.
Reflections
The Somali people have endured long struggle for justice, freedom, unity, democracy, and progress. But the achievement of those noble goals has remained elusive due in major part to the performance of Somali leaders and Elite serving their personal ego and foreign interests rather than being focused on their historic responsibility for the common welfare, long term interests, and cohesion of their society crippled by self-destructive clan rivalries. US President Harry S. Truman once said, ““Men make history, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” The change for success is in hands of Somali Elite and people.
Above Members of Somaliland Diaspora welcoming the SL Ministers upon their arrival in Sydney ,Australia
By Goth Mohamed Goth
A Somaliland delegation consisting of the two Cabinet Ministers are currently in Sydney, Australia for a 10 day working visit.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mohamed Bihi Yonis and the Minister of Planning and National Development the Hon. Dr Saad Ali Shire are currently after being invited by the Australian government for the first time very constructive meetings with the Australian government.
The two Somaliland Ministers are expected to meet with the top Australian government officials and any other federal ministers as well as representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australian Council for International Development, AusAID in a bid to discuss ways in which to foster ways cooperation on issues of economic and social development and Defense and the Australian Secret Intelligence Service well as future cooperation on matter pertaining counter-terrorism, Piracy and intelligence sharing between the two nations.
The invitation by the Australian government was extended through the Somaliland-Australian Friendship Foundation (SAFF) Which has been established in order to increase awareness, trade and other relations between Australia and the Republic of Somaliland.
Abeba, a 31-year-old Muslim woman who worked for a local government branch of Ethiopia’s youth and sports office, was at work when Ethiopian security officials detained her and took her to a military camp.
The authorities accused her of mobilizing Ethiopian Muslims – often ethnic Oromos like herself – against the government, Abeba said. When Abeba denied the allegation, the officers played a recording of a phone conversation she had with her sister, who lives in Yemen. The conversation was about day-to-day matters, Abeba said, but the authorities insisted that Abeba was talking in code, which peaceful Ethiopian activists often do to stay out of jail.
Abeba said she was locked in a small cell. That night, she was raped four times – she doesn’t know by whom. It was dark, and she couldn’t see.
A year ago, the world was rocked by revelations of massive spying by the United States National Security Agency. While few in the US worry that the surveillance will result in threats to their lives or their families, that’s not true in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia – one of the world’s most repressive countries – has virtually unlimited access to its citizens’ phone records, thanks to China-made surveillance technology. A new Human Rights Watch report, “They Know Everything We Do’: Telecom and Internet Surveillance in Ethiopia, based on more than 100 interviews with victims of abuse and former intelligence officials, shows how authorities use access to mobile data and call recordings to harass and arrest people they believe oppose the government. This knowledge is even more disturbing given that torture of political prisoners happens all too often in Ethiopia’s prisons.
Recorded phone calls with family members and friends – particularly those with foreign phone numbers—are played during abusive interrogations in which people are often accused of belonging to banned organizations.
Phone networks have been shut down during peaceful protests and protesters’ locations have been pinpointed using information from their mobile phones. Intercepted emails and phone calls have been submitted as evidence in trials under the country’s flawed anti-terrorism law, although it seems no warrants were obtained to collect this information.
Spyware developed by British, German, and Italian companies has also been used to target Ethiopians living abroad. Once a person’s computer is infected by such spyware, security and intelligence agencies have nearly unfettered access to files, information, and activity on the target’s computer. They can log keystrokes and passwords and turn on a device’s webcam and the microphone, effectively turning a computer into a listening device. This software, used to target Ethiopians living in the United Kingdom, the United States, Norway and Switzerland, has been used to capture Skype conversations that have appeared on pro-government websites.
This spyware can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ethiopia is an impoverished country with chronic food shortages, and received over $4 billion in development assistance in 2013 alone. Efforts should be directed at improving the rights of its population, not at using the latest technology to undermine those rights.
In late 2011, Ethiopia’s government began interfering with the rights of the country’s Muslim minority by meddling in the activities of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs. In response, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopia’s Muslims, who make up about 40 to 45 percent of the population, took to the streets in protest. It was these protests that authorities accused Abeba of helping to organize.
Abeba believes she was arrested because she received emails from Yemen. The security officials had printed out the emails but couldn’t read Abeba’s native Afan Oromo language and even asked her what was written, Abeba said. The fact that the e-mails came from an Arab country might have been enough for them. The officials also used her Facebook activity as evidence against her: Abeba had posted an Al Jazeera article about the Muslim protests in Ethiopia.
That time, she said, they beat her and let her go.
The second time, she was arrested after speaking on the phone with her sister in Yemen, she believes. Officials listened to her ring tone, which was religious, and called it “illegal.” Then the officers examined her phone and said her many contacts in Arab countries — her sister in Yemen, a brother in Oman and cousins in Saudi Arabia — were further evidence of her guilt. But having relatives abroad is common for Ethiopian Muslims because so many flee their country’s poverty for potential work in Arab lands.
The officials didn’t consider that Abeba lived in a region of Ethiopia where few protests had occurred. They detained her for three months. Shortly after her release, she fled to Kenya.
Abeba seems lost and helpless; her family doesn’t even know she fled to Kenya. She is all alone there. She would very much like to call home to let them know she is okay, but she won’t. She’s afraid the call will be traced.
A kangaroo court in Egypt just sentenced 528 people to death. This is likely the biggest mass execution ruling this century, but one man can stop the killings.
Egypt’s most important religious figure, Grand Mufti Allam has10days to reject the decision.Religious leaders are already condemning the ruling, and as the first Mufti to be elected by his peers, he has a legitimate mandate to be the nation’s moral leader. Let’s create a global plea from people of all religions to provide clemency and block this barbarous ruling.
This was a political show trial — the military regime is using the firing squad to wipe out the opposition. If the world does not speak up, the consequences for Egypt and the world are beyond dangerous. Sign now to save these lives and stop a spiral of violence — when one million of us have joined, religious leaders in Egypt will deliver our call for compassion directly to the Mufti:
After the hope of Tahrir Square, where hundreds of thousands took to the streets to overthrow decades of dictatorship, the Egyptian people democratically elected a Muslim Brotherhood government. But last summer the military staged a populist coup, Brotherhood supporters rioted, and then the military declared the party a terrorist organisation and violently cracked down —16,000 democracy activists, journalists, and even teenage school girls have been arrested!
The trial was a joke — on top of charges of rioting and destruction of property, the 528 are all accused of killing one police officer, and defense lawyers were barred from the sentencing session, which lasted less than an hour! But this is not a one off — the judiciary is repeatedly being used to crackdown on political dissent, while security forces accused of killing hundreds of protesters are rarely held to account. There are real security threats, but as the military authorities’ iron fist and intimidation grows, extremism is fuelled.
This is the harshest mass conviction in modernEgyptianhistory, but what happens next in this case could have repercussions way beyond Egypt. Sign the urgent petition now asking the Grand Mufti not to rubber stamp state-sponsored murder and to provide the ethical leadership Egypt desperately needs:
The world has kept silent as this regime has launched an all out attack against an imperfect but elected government and brought democracy in Egypt to its knees. Global leaders trumpet democracy at every opportunity and strongly condemn anti-democratic plots from Crimea to Caracas. But not in Egypt. Now if the world looks away and allows this cruel mass execution to happen, a dangerous message will resonate across the globe that the world will stand by democracy, except for political Islam. That will empower one small but very dangerous group that can hurt us all: the extremists.
Time and again the Avaaz community has forcefully advocated against brutal injustice and for peaceful, meaningful reconciliation between embittered communities. Right now Egypt’s future hangs in the balance, and a wildly unjust and provocative ruling like the one handed down in Minya could push it over the edge. Let’s bring the people’s voice to this precarious situation and ensure that these 528 lives are saved.
With hope,
Alice, Nick, Oli, Wissam, Bissan, Mais, Emily, Ari, Ricken and the whole Avaaz team
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed B. Yonis this week met with Cameron Miller and Lizzie Lovett. Cameron miller who is from Foreign & Commonwealth Office political team based in London, Lizzie Lovett represents the British Embassy in Addis Ababa.
The Purpose of the meeting was to discuss issues related to the FCO travel advisory which does not reflect the security in the Republic of Somaliland.
FO again issued last month a security threat warning emanating from Somaliland decision as being irrational and troubling considering the fact that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London has decided to advise against all travel to Somaliland by British nationals.
Hon Bihi Yonis told the visiting UK officials Somaliland government recognizes the importance of vigilance, in this instance it believes that the FCO has been overly hasty in issue the alert and that it was regrettable that the FCO have sought fit to issue a blanket warning, decision which has adverse effects on the country overall image and may as well cause considerable anxiety for potential investors throughout Somaliland and beyond.
The Republic of Somaliland also expressed its concerns about Puntland’s aggressive intentions. The Republic of Somaliland is a nation which embraces peace coexistence with its neighbors. The Somaliland government demands respect regarding its borders.
The Ministry of Sports , Tourism and Youth Affairs representatives and other stakeholders were invited to witness the launch of Somaliland Tourism feasibility study report from representatives of Dunira Strategy sustainable tourism consultants which, in conjunction with local partners Horn Heritage, had been awarded a Comic Relief Common Ground Initiative Research, Consultation and Planning Grant for the research during in a simply event held in Hargeisa.
Dunira had been awarded a Comic Relief grant in conjunction with Horn Heritage to explore existing opportunities with the aim of developing cultural and heritage tourism in Somaliland, as a driver of social and economic development.
The grant is funding a feasibility study determining the development potential of cultural and heritage tourism in Somaliland.
Dunira always aims to align local needs and capabilities with the international community’s expectations and market desire. Such an approach is imperative to ensure the genuine sustainable development of destinations.
The specific focus for the project is the cultural and natural heritage tourism potential in the corridor between the port city of Berbera and Hargeisa the capital city , which includes the famous rock art site and ancient marvel of Las Geel.
