Ethio-Somali ties gain momentum: Ethiopia’s FM
May 8, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin said Monday the relations between Ethiopia and Somalia have been gaining momentum from time to time.
During his talks with his Somali counterpart Abdulahi Sheikh Ismail, Seyoum said a number of measures have been taken to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Somalian Foreign Minister Ismail, who is here on a working visit, said Ethiopia has been making considerable support over the past 14 years for the transitional government to get international recognition.
He said, Ethiopia has also been supporting the peace and stability efforts in Somalia and pledged commitments to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries and to bring about durable peace and stability in the Horn of Africa region.
During their talks, the two sides dwelt on ways of implementing the agreements signed at the Sanaa Forum to help Somalia and other bilateral issues, according to Ethiopian Ambassador to Somalia, Abdelaziz Ahmed Adel, who attended the talks.
The Sanaa Forum was set up by Yemen, Sudan and Ethiopia in October 2002 and Somalia joined the group in December 2004.
The talks acknowledged the need to maintain and strengthen the largely stable situation in Somalia, the Ethiopian official said, adding currently most of the Somalia region seems to get peace and stability except separate cases of clashes in one part of Mogadishu, capital of Somalia.
Somalia’s transitional government last year officially relocated from the neighboring Kenya to the Horn of Africa nation to embark on a key task of rebuilding the war-torn nation after decades of anarchy.
However, regional analysts said relocating without foreign peacekeepers, the transitional government fears the militia-rule in Somalia will prevent ministers and their teams from carrying out their work in safety.
(ST/Xinhua)