Tuesday March 21, 2023
Mogadishu (HOL) -Puntland's regional state leader, Said Abdullahi Deni, held a meeting with international donors in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday. The donors emphasized the importance of Puntland's constructive engagement in Somalia's state-building process, including its participation in the National Consultative Council.
Representatives from the UK, USA, EU, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, and the World Bank were resent at the meeting.
Puntland's presidency issued a statement that the meeting focused on Puntland's development, specifically in areas such as security, economic development, elections, and the conflict situation in the Sool region. However, the statement made no mention of Puntland's absence from the recent NCC meeting. Puntland's statement did highlight its discussions of state-building issues in Somalia, such as federalization and the distribution of development grants.
Reports indicate that the international community pressured Puntland to participate in the Council's deliberations. Nonetheless, Puntland informed the international community of its decision to abstain from the National Consultative Council meetings.
Earlier this week, federal and regional state leaders held a National Consultative Council meeting in Baidoa, where they reached several agreements, including the completion of the national security architecture and the adoption of fiscal federalism principles. Notably absent from the conference was Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni.
In a statement released on January 9, Puntland declared it was "now acting as an independent government" and accused the federal government of attempting to centralize power in Mogadishu at the expense of Federal Member States. The NCC agreed to send a committee of members of the FMS leaders, namely Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, Ahmed Abdi Kariye Qoorqoor, and Ali Abdullahi Hussein Guudlawe, to engage in discussions with the Puntland Government aimed at completing the rebuilding of the country's government and convincing Puntland to attend the next meeting.