Kampala, Uganda, April 21, 2007 (SL Times) – On Tuesday April 17, 2007, Somaliland’s parliamentary delegation arrived in Uganda after spending two weeks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa as official guests of the Ethiopian parliament. Somaliland’s delegation is composed of members of parliament and politial parties and is led by the speaker of parliament, Mr Abdirahman Muhammad Abdillahi. The delegation was met at Entebbe airport by officials from the Uganda parliament and were taken to Hotel Africana in the center of Kampala.

The next day, the delegation was warmly received by Uganda’s parliamentary speaker, Rt Hon Edward K. Ssekandi. Somaliland’s delegation took this opportunity to inform the speaker of the Ugandan parliament of the history of Somaliland and how the parliaments of the two countries could cooperate for the mutual benefit of their two peoples. The two sides also discussed how Uganda could support Somaliland’s quest for recognition. Somaliland’s delegation handed to the Rt Hon Edward K. Ssekandi books and documents about Somaliland’s history and the progress it has made since it restored its independence. Somaliland’s Speaker of Parliament, Mr Abdirahman Muhammad Abdillahi, capped the talks by extending an official invitation to his Ugandan counterpart to visit Somaliland.

Somaliland’s delegation also had a special meeting with the Deputy Speaker of Uganda’s parliament, Ms. Rebecca A. Kadag. Somaliland’s delegation discussed with Uganda’s deputy speaker Somaliland’s history. Towards the end of the discussion, Ms. Rebecca A. Kadag, said that she had learned a lot about Somaliland from Somaliland’s delegation. She also stated that she was going to invite the two female members of Somaliland’s parliament.

The Ugandan parliament got a chance to show African hospitality when it held an official dinner in honor of their guests from Somaliland.

The Somaliland delegation also got a live experience of the Ugandan parliament when it attended a session that lasted more than three hours.

On Thursday, April 19, 2007, the heads of Somaliland’s various committees met with their Ugandan counterparts. After the meetings, the Speaker of Uganda’s parliament held a luncheon at the Sheraton hotel in honor of the Somaliland delegation. Later that day, the Ugandan hosts took the Somaliland delegation on a trip to Uganda’s second capital, Jinja, which is where the Nile river originates.

On Friday, April 14, Somaliland’s delegation met with Uganda’s foreign minister, Sam K. Kutesa, SC. MP, a man who has considerable influence in his country. The discussion between the Somaliland delegation and the foreign minister was positive and covered several issues, among them: cooperation between the countries in the areas of trade, democracy and culture.

The eight heads of the various committees in Somaliland’s parliament were scheduled to leave Uganda for Addis Ababa on Friday and are expected to reach Somaliland on Saturday.

The rest of the delegation (the speaker of Somaliland’s parliament, the second deputy speaker of Somaliland’s parliament, the chairman of UCID party, the first deputy chairman of Kulmiye party, and the general secretary of UDUB party) will proceed on the next leg of their travel which is to Rwanda, where they will be on an official visit.