The Somali Government through officials working for the office of the President of the restive and war-torn Horn state issued a statement claiming they’d not attend a consensus building meeting in Nairobi citing a unsuitable venue, and in this case the world class 18 Hole Windsor Golf and Country Hotel in Nairobi’s leafy suburb.
According to President Farmaajo’s Chief of Staff Nur Dirie, Somali Government representatives would not participate in the expected consensus building meeting in Nairobi Kenya. Nur futher added that Mogadishu was committed to engage in constructive dialogue with Somaliland when a suitable venue, agenda, and participants are agreed upon, an indicator Mogadishu was uncomfortable with both participants, agenda, and the venue.
The meeting was organized by a Swiss Diplomacy firm and was meant to discuss various issues including the relationship between the Republic of Somaliland and Mogadishu. However, one of the most important sessions would have been the discussion on regional Horn and Red Sea dynamics and the implications of for the Somalia- Somaliland process.
Mogadishu fell short of saying it’d not participate due to the diplomatic tensions with the Republic of Kenya factored largely by the maritime row. Somalia hopes to win the case at the ICJ though either outcome would have little implication on Kenya’s position on the contested area.
