Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department's policy is on the bidding by Somaliland for Observer Status of the Commonwealth of Nations.
There is no observer status or associate membership of the Commonwealth of Nations. The criteria for membership include the requirement to be a full sovereign state, and Somaliland is not internationally recognised. HMG's position has long been that it is for Somalia and Somaliland to decide their future, and for regional neighbours to take the lead in recognising any new arrangements.