Somalia and Somaliland hold historic summit in Djibouti

Text by: RFI Follow

The presidents of Somalia and the former province of British Somalia which seceded in 1991, called Somaliland, met head to head for the first time this Sunday June 14 in Djibouti. Officially, it was a "consultation summit" intended, above all, to open negotiations on the conflictual relations between the two capitals.

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After being greeted on a red carpet by Djiboutian President Ismaël Omar Guelleh, Mohamed Farmajo, President of Somalia, then Muse Bihbi, President of Somaliland, went to the Presidential Palace. The three presidents, masks on their faces, saw each other for a long time in a private room, then with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who worked a lot for this rapprochement.

All engaged in a new symbolic exercise for the cameras, each planting a tree in the arid soil. Abiy Ahmed took the opportunity to underline the fruitfulness of the “dialogue” for development.

A plenary session was then held around a large rectangular table, in the presence of important observers such as the regional organization IGAD, the United States, Ethiopia and the European Union. The heads of state took the floor in turn, both to clarify their position vis-à-vis each other but also to affirm their desire for reconciliation.

If no spectacular announcement is expected this evening, this summit nevertheless constitutes the launching of a negotiation process, which will last.

► Read also: The tea towel burns between Kenya and Somalia about Somaliland

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• Somalia
• Somaliland
• Djibouti