SOPRI’s 'Goodwill Mission To Somaliland' Delegation Arrives Today In Hargeysa

London, December 9, 2006 (SL Times) – 14 delegates from the Somaliland Policy and Reconstruction Institute (SOPRI) who are part of the Goodwill Mission delegation to Somaliland are expected to arrive today in Hargeysa from London.

The delegates will be in the country for 3-4 weeks and plan to visit all the regions. The primary purpose of the Goodwill Mission is to promote cooperation and understanding among the state organs in Somaliland and to facilitate consultation on major issues of national interest, and more specifically, the mission is planning to;

• Discuss the Resolutions from the 2006 Somaliland Convention that was organized by SOPRI with all the organs of state and other concerned parties with a view to convincing them of the need to implement these resolutions, in collaboration with the Diaspora. These resolutions can be used as a basis for developing a new national development strategy. The success of the Mission will be measured by the extent to which the main points of the Resolutions are endorsed by the parties and agreement reached, in principle, on their implementation

• Encourage the national leadership, together with the political parties, and the people they represent to close ranks, display a strong sense of unity and purpose, cooperate and consult to overcome national problems, and discard partisan politics and petty rivalries.

• Underscore the nation’s overriding objectives which include a) safeguarding of its sovereign independence, b) good governance by adherence to the rule of law, peace, justice, equality, c) socio-economic development; and for its people, and finally the attainment of international recognition of Somaliland’s independent status.

• Build a platform for consultations between the national leadership and representatives of the “Qurba-joog”, which would enable both parties to develop a common strategy that would identify areas where the resources and experience of Somalilanders could best be utilized to advance the common cause.

The article 22 of the Resolutions from the 2006 Somaliland Conference in Washington DC called on SOPRI to organize a Goodwill Mission delegation, which will visit Somaliland to discuss the resolutions from the conference with all the organs of state and other concerned parties with a view to convince them of the need to implement these resolutions.

Under the auspices of SOPRI, members of the Diaspora have put together a team of distinguished delegates who will visit Somaliland to help resolve some of the key challenges facing the country and also to discuss the resolutions from the 2006 Somaliland Conference in Washington DC.

Some of the delegates have already reached Somaliland, with the last group expected today from London to arrive in Hargeysa.

The Goodwill Mission delegates are:

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