Wednesday, September 04, 2013
Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom met with the President of the Puntland Administration, Abdirahman Mohamud Farole, for a working dinner on Monday (September 2).
President Farole thanked Dr.Tedros for the commitment and dedication he had shown in the negotiation process which led to the breakthrough of the recent signing of the Agreement between the Juba Interim Administration and the Somali Federal Government in Addis Ababa. Dr. Tedros, who detailed the week-long negotiations, underlined the point that the amount of common ground had translated into positive elements that helped to resolve differences and forge an agreement.
The two sides exchanged views on a numerous issues including ways to scale up sub-regional integration through air and road transport links, power supply connections and increased trade. They agreed that higher levels of integration were vital to the peace and security of the sub region and that Ethiopia and Somalia needed to work together on the basis of their comparative and competitive advantages. President Farole, in particular, praised Ethiopia's efforts to bring peace and security to the region. It might be added that President Farole had no difficulty on arrival at Addis Ababa, and the story carried by All Africa.com, quoting Dalsan Radio, claiming that President Farole had been refused entry on August 28, was completely inaccurate.