Hargeysa, Somaliland, January 30, 2010 (SL Times) – The Deputy Minister of Planning, Mr. Ahmed Hashi Abdi sent a letter to the Somali language newspaper Haatuf in which he corrected their newspaper’s account of why the UN’s International Labor Organization’s office in Somaliland was closed. Mr. Ahmed Hashi made the following points:

1-       The ILO has been in Somaliland since the year 2000 and has executed a number of important projects. The ILO takes on projects for which it had secured financing and since it had carried out its projects in Somaliland, it decided to temporarily close its office until it gets financing for new projects.

2-       It was reported that the ILO left Somaliland due to security concerns. This is not true, and the proof that it is not true is that UN organizations follow a unified procedure, so it does not make sense that the ILO would leave due to security concerns while the other UN organizations remain in the country.

3-       The ministry has written to the ILO and we intend to visit their regional office to discuss this issue with them. Moreover, the ministry thanks the ILO for all the projects they had undertaken in Somaliland and we hope they will be back as soon as their financial situation allows so they would continue their projects.

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