Somaliland:The expected Agenda and the outcome of Silanyo Visit to London.

The governments of Somaliland and the UK gave no details about the essence of the President?s visit. However, given the status queue, it is obvious that two main issues will be discussed: A) the negotiations with the South prior to the upcoming conference on 07May2013. B) The security in the Region and the role Somaliland should play in this regard. The first and most important issue is setting the agenda for the upcoming negotiation between Somaliland and Somalia. The UK government who is spearheading the talks is keen to reach some consensus and understanding between the two sides prior to the May conference which according to the UK officials will be in two phases. The first phase was originally centered on the ways and means of assisting the new Somalia Government of Hassan Sheikh Mahoud in spreading its authority in the Somali territories. However, if an agreement is concluded with Mr. Silanyo, in the interim, financing of Somaliland development plans will be part and parcel of the conference. If no in principal agreement is reached, Somaliland will definitely not attend the conference. In short, the British obviously want to make the conference more inclusive to address the political and security requirements of entire former Somalia. The second phase will be essentially restricted to the negotiation between Somaliland and Somalia in a more comprehensive and detailed manner.
In this context, the UK government wants to have the two sides agree on the ?Principals? of resolving the longstanding recognition of Somaliland prior to the international conference in May. The real issue at stake is to avert renewed conflict between the two sides vs. Somaliland declaration of independence. In addition, the general security issues like the piracy and terrorism in the Somali Peninsula are also of paramount importance as far as the international community is concerned.
The UK government will use the famous tactic of the Carrot and Stick to reach the required goals. For instance, the Government of Somalia will receive pledge of getting the direly needed financing of their ambitious reconstruction and rehabilitation plans, but no such assistance will be forthcoming unless and until they agree, in principal, on how they intend to address the dispute with Somaliland. Equally enough, Somaliland will not receive sizeable financing for its equally ambitious development plans unless they also agree to amicably resolve the dispute with the South. In short, the UK government wants to have the following points, or something similar, on the table before the international commuity to justify any meaningful and sizeable assistance to Somaliland and Somalia in the upcoming Conference in London.
The governments of Somaliland and Somalia agreed to pursue political and peaceful means to resolve their differences.
The two sides agreed not to use diplomatic or political pressures against one another in resolving their dispute, which is centered around Somaliland declaration of independence.
The two sides agreed to respect the International Boundary between the two sides prior to the union of 01 July 1960, which will be treated as de facto Border between the two territories until final political settlement has been concluded.
The two sides also agreed to share the proceeds of the international financing on prorate basis, to be agreed upon, based on the needs of the two sides.
An International Fund will be set up to finance the needs of the two sides. The Fund will be managed by International Joint Committee and both Somaliland and Somalia will be entitled to their respective share of the funding.
Hassan Abdi Yousuf
Riyadh
Saudi Arabia
hassan_ayousuf@hotmail.com