Hargeysa, November 3, 2007 (SL Times) – President Dahir Rayale Kahin met Tuesday a delegation from Norway’s oil and gas industry who are said to be looking to invest in Somaliland’s hydro-carbon potentials.

The delegation who arrived from Oslo on Monday consisted of two Norwegian company executives involved in oil and gas exploration, the S/land representative in Norway, Mr Ahmed M Linen and the chair of S/land’s Diaspora in Norway.

News of the delegation’s visit to S/land was acknowledged in a presidential press statement issued same day the delegation held talks with the president at his residency.

Mr Jarand Rystad, a Norwegian oil and gas executive was quoted in the presidential statement having said, “We are from a Norwegian oil and gas exploration company and have come all the way from Norway to look into the opportunities available in investing in the natural resources of S/land, in particular, the abundant oil and gas potential in S/land. We have been discussing with the government our plans to explore S/land’s hydrocarbons and doing business in S/land. We are planning to send over to S/land, our company’s top exploration experts in the hope of doing an oil and gas feasibility study for future exploration and operations.

Speaking at the meeting, President Rayale expressed his pleasure at receiving this delegation from Norway which in the President's words “are from a nation which has shown strong support for Somaliland and has been always ready with much needed assistance".

President Rayale went on to mention that Somaliland welcomes Norwegian expertise in order to explore and utilise the natural resources of the country. Rayale reminisced on his two visits to Norway, in which he had first hand experience at the capacity of the Norwegian oil and gas industry. The President stated that the Norwegian expertise will further bind the two countries and strengthen the current relationship.

Ahmed Kheyre contributed to this report.

Source: Somaliland Times