Somalia joins Sanaa Forum states

KHARTOUM, Dec 27, 2004 (Sudan TV) — Somalia has become the fourth regional state to formally join the Sanaa Forum for Cooperation, a regional grouping that brings together Yemen, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Announcing the news at a press conference in Khartoum, broadcast live on Sudanese TV, at the end of a one-day summit of the Sanaa Forum states, the president of Somalia, Abdullah Yusuf Ahmad, said it was “absolutely natural” for Somalia to be invited to join the grouping and urged the regional states to support his government.

“Somalia, as everybody knows, is a part and parcel of this region. Joining this Sanaa Forum is absolutely natural and Somalia gains a lot of things, because we have no any trouble or any conflict with our neighbours in the region.

“Somalia needs all nations of this region in this difficult moment of its history. Of course, Somalia needs political, military and financial support from regional states, and all over the world. For these reasons, joining this forum is for the ultimate interest of all us, and particularly for Somalia,” President Ahmad said, speaking in English.

Material from the BBC Monitoring Service