Wednesday October 17, 2018
Ethiopian, Somali and Eritrean foreign ministers - Mogadishu, Somalia
MOGADISHU (HOL) - Ethiopian and Eritrean foreign ministers have hailed Somalia's security and economic reforms, terming it a critical step toward establishing a fully functional and effective state for the country which is recovering from decades of civil unrest.
In a joint statement issued during an official visit in the Somali capital Wednesday, the two ministers Workneh Gebeyehu of Ethiopia and his Eritrean counterpart Osman Salah affirmed their respective countries’ support for the Somali government, calling the reforms ‘a major milestone’, calling the international community to support the UN-backed government.
In their statement, the two ministers have also reaffirmed respect for Somalia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence, something officials have long demanded amid concerns that neighbouring countries were backing regional states against the central government.
During their one-day visit, the two ministers who held talks with Somali prime minister Hassan Ali Kheyre and his foreign minister Ahmed Issa Awad also reiterated a larger support for Somali government in its efforts to restore stability into the long-chaotic nation.
Meanwhile, ongoing Somalia’s post-conflict economic reforms, which heralds an epic rise from the ashes of civil unrest has drawn an praise from the international community which credited Somalia's government for tangible improvement in the management of the economy and its institutions.
The visit by the two ministers from former archrival neighbouring countries follows a recent historic peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea which ended one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts in Africa that killed hundreds of thousands of people for nearly two decades.
The two countries have since restored their bilateral and diplomatic relations.