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Hargeysa,
Somaliland, September 5, 2009 (SL Times) – Somaliland received a number
of foreign delegations within the last couple of weeks:
Aug. 19, 2009: Ethiopian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr
Tekeda Alemu arrived in Somaliland.
Aug, 24, 2009: Mr. Nicolas Bwakira, the African Union’s Representative
for Somalia, arrived in Somaliland.
Aug. 29, 2009: Somaliland’s President Dahir Rayale Kahin met in his
office with Britain’s Deputy Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mr. John Marshall.
Sept.1, 2009: Mr. Charles Petrie, Deputy Special Representative of the
UN Secretary General, came to Somaliland.
Of course, the primary reason these foreign diplomats were in Hargeysa
was to help in resolving the election related dispute that has cropped
up between Somaliland’s government and the opposition parties. That by
itself shows the importance the international community attaches not
just to the election but to Somaliland’s role in maintaining peace and
security in the Horn of Africa region. For an impoverished, unrecognized
country to attract so much attention, and to carve for itself such a
vital role, is no mean achievement.
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