Somalia: Government Boycotts UN Consultative Meeting

Somali cabinet ministers held conference in Mogadishu and boycotted an upcoming UN consultative meeting to be held in Kenyan capital Nairobi on April, Radio Garowe reports.
The cabinet said in a statement on Thursday the government institutions will not attend the upcoming UN consultative meeting and stated it as an obstacle to the government efforts and developments.

"We see the meeting as obstacle to the government efforts and developments, and to bring together Somali federal states now is unworthy for the government operations and wasting time," said Somali deputy Prime Minister, Abdihakim Hajji Mohammud in a press conference after the cabinet ministers meeting.

He adds the government will continue discussing with traditional elders, stake holders and other parts of the society how they can be part to bring peace and stability back to the country.
Mohammud appealed to the other government institutions to support their decision to work for the national interest.
Meanwhile, UN Special envoy said in a statement from his office that the planned High Level Consultative meeting to take place in Nairobi on 12 and 13 April. He called on all Somali authorities to participate.

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"It is my obligation under the Djibouti agreement to facilitate dialogue among the Somali institutions and authorities. I urge all Somali leaders to demonstrate their commitment to advancing the peace process by taking part in this meeting", said Ambassador Mahiga in the statement on Friday.
He said the main objective of the meeting is to reinvigorate dialogue among Somali authorities to establish a common vision for moving forward. This is a consultative meeting, no decisions will be taken. The international community will be present only as observers, not as participants, to show support and to get clear ideas on the tasks of the respective Somali institutions on how to end the transition within the current framework, based on the Transitional Federal Charter and the Djibouti Agreement."
Somalia was without central authority since 1991.