Monday December 14, 2020
MOGADISHU (HOL) - Somalia said Sunday it is engaging the regional bloc IGAD to resolve the ongoing diplomatic disputes with its neighbour Kenya as the two countries go on a diplomatic offensive against each other.
Few hours after Somaliland president Muse Bihi arrived in Nairobi, Mogadishu announced it had sought the intervention of the eight member IGAD bloc to resolve the matter.
“In response to the Federal Government of Somalia letter against Kenya, which was submitted to H.E. Abdalla Hamdok, PM of the Republic of Sudan and the Chair of the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government, the IGAD will hold a summit in Djibouti on Dec 20 on this matter,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a tweet some 30 minutes to mid night.
Bihi is expected to hold talks with president Uhuru Kenyatta today in what will be a much-followed affair by Villa Somalia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kenya said the talks will focus on ‘mutual interest’.
“Somaliland is an important partner in the Horn of Africa region in the fight against terrorism and particularly Al-Shabaab,” the ministry said in a tweet.
Somalia expelled Kenya’s ambassador late last month over ‘interference of internal affairs.’