On Tuesday, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Djibouti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that his country was laying the groundwork for the resumption of new Somaliland-Somalia talks.
Representatives from Somalia and Somaliland met in Djibouti in mid-June under the leadership and facilitation of President Ismail Omar Guelleh.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia also attended the talks, which he had been championing since winning his country’s election.
President Muse Bihi Abdi of Somaliland and President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo of Somalia represented their respective countries at the talks.
One of the deals they signed was to establish a technical committee that would set the agenda for all subsequent meetings between the two nations.
Youssouf has now confirmed via Twitter that the talks are on course as his country prepares the ground for the meeting of the joint technical ministerial committee.
He further stated that all stakeholders have to exercise a bit of patience and prudence to “remove all obstacles capable of derailing the process.”
In the meantime, latest reports from Djibouti indicate that President Farmaajo’s government has requested postponement of the talks by one more week.
Somalia has not issued any reason for asking for the one-week postponement but the political turmoil from the impending elections could have influenced the decision.