Somali Govt. Agrees to Convene Reconciliation Conference

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 29, 2001

Somali Govt. Agrees to Convene Reconciliation Conference

Somalia's Ttransitional National Government (TNG) has agreed to convene immediately a "comprehensive national reconciliation conference for Somalia" on the basis of Somalia resolution adopted at the 8th summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority Development (IGAD), according to a press release issued Wednesday in Addis Ababa.

An understanding was also reached to dispatch a joint mission of the IGAD sub-committee to all parts of Somalia so as to conductconsultations with the TNG, the Somali Reconciliation and Reconstruction Council (SRRC) and other parties concerned to pave the way for national reconciliation and the establishment of a broad-based government, said the joint release issued by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry and Somalia TNG delegation led by the newly appointed Prime Minister Hasan Abshir Farah.

The Ethiopian side emphasized the need for an urgent action by all parties in Somalia to engage in a constructive dialogue without any further delay with a view to achieving peace, stability and national reconciliation in Somalia, said the releaseciting by the Walta Information Center.

The six-man delegation, which left here on the same day after concluding a three-day visit to Ethiopia at the invitation of the Ethiopian government, held discussions with senior Ethiopian officials, including Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi during their stay in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. On Tuesday, the Somali prime minister has denied that the al-Qaida network of Osama bin Laden was present in the Horn of Africacountry, saying "I want to state very clearly that there no terrorist bases inside Somalia."

His remarks came following the United States' allegation that bin Laden has connections with Somalia. He also noted that the United States could deploy troops insideSomalia "to monitor and track down alleged terrorists activities".