UN Special Representative for Somalia Welcomes Step Towards Dialogue

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Nairobi – 15 September 2005: The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia (SRSG), Francois Lonseny Fall, today welcomed a letter by Prime Minister, Ali Mohammed Gedi inviting Cabinet Ministers of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to meet in Mogadishu. The SRSG took particular note of the PM's intention to hold consultations before convening a meeting of the TFG Council of Ministers.

The Prime Minister's letter was circulated at a meeting of the International Community in Nairobi on Wednesday, 14 September. The International Community welcomed the Prime Minister's initiative and promised material support for it.

The Prime Minister's letter follows months of effort by the International Community to help foster dialogue to resolve differences within the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). Those differences include the location of the TFIs. The Prime Minister and President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed have relocated to Jowhar, maintaining that Mogadishu is insecure. The Speaker of the Parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, some cabinet members and a number of Parliamentarians, insist that Mogadishu is safe and that the Government belongs there.

Mr. Fall urged all Cabinet Ministers to seize the opportunity for consultations to move closer to reconciliation in Somalia. “I encourage the Prime Minister to pursue this initiative, which is in the spirit of fostering dialogue within the Transitional Federal Institutions,” he said.

The SRSG expressed the hope that the meetings of the Council of Ministers would be followed by a full session of the Parliament in accordance with the Transitional Federal Charter of Somalia.

For more information please contact: UN Political Office for Somalia(Nairobi, Kenya) Tel. +254 20 762 21 31 Please visit: www.UN-Somalia.org