Somaliland Globe (Washington, 14 Jan, 2010) Mr. Ahmed Silanyo's visit to Washington has prompted a renewed interest in and a focus on Somaliland by the United States. Speaking in a conference organized by the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Mr. Silanyo provided an in-depth assessment on Somaliland, gleaning to the conference attendees a wide variety of aspects of Somaliland's historical, political, security and economic realities.
KULMIYE's presidential candidate appealed to the international community to lend a hand to the democratization effort that is ongoing in Somaliland, and warned against the negative consequences of denying the Somaliland people of free elections for the regional security.
The Chairman of KULMIYE party, accompanied by his Foreign Secretary, Dr. Mohamed A Omar, stressed the need for the United States and the donor communities to provide an increased development aid to Somaliland to mitigate potential radicalization of the youth in the absence any educational and or economic opportunities. He also emphasized on the need to combat the threat of terrorism and piracy in the Horn of Africa by establishing a joint front with the international community and asked the US to partner with Somaliland in dealing with this serous threat.
Interest in Somaliland has hereto forth been dormant in the US policy circles due to the lack of any meaningful advocacy by the current Somaliland government. Mr. Silanyo's visit to the US capital seemed to have heralded a new US interest in engaging with Somaliland for the mutual interest of the two nations.
The conference was attended by officials from the US State Department, US AID, NED, former US Ambassador to Ethiopia, David Shinn, Former US Assistant Secretary of State, Hon. Princeton Lyman, friends of Somaliland, scholars that follow the affairs of the Horn of Africa and others.
Somaliland Globe
Washington DC
No comments:
Post a Comment