Somaliland: Diplomatic Relations

(asked on 3rd December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to develop and strengthen diplomatic relations with Somaliland.


Answered by
James Duddridge Portrait
James Duddridge
This question was answered on 10th December 2020

The UK enjoys a warm and historic relationship with Somaliland and is the only Western donor with a permanent presence in Hargeisa. The UK does not recognise Somaliland as an independent state, but UK officials engage with the local authorities on an ongoing basis on a broad range of issues. The UK is committed to pursuing prosperity and security for people across East Africa; in Somaliland, we offer support in areas such as economic infrastructure, inclusive politics, humanitarian response, security and justice.

On my recent visit to Mogadishu, I underlined our hope that people in Somaliland should benefit from the World Bank support that is now available thanks to progress under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries debt relief process. I also encouraged President Farmajo to continue the dialogue and confidence building initiative begun in Djibouti earlier this year.

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